Kidnap
by IdiotAmerica56
Summary: A PreseaxRegal pairing. A new enemy arises, out to destroy the world with help from a new Chosen. When Presea is kidnapped, she slowly begins to learn that what the organization wants is much more than just her... R&R! Ch.10 Up! Read or else!
1. Kidnap

The silver Rheiard zoomed through the air. The rider, a small girl, began to panic as she saw the fuel level of the Rheiard drop rapidly. Beads of sweat began to fall down her face, and she brushed her pink hair out of her eyes. She continued to ride, even though she knew she would never make it Ozette with this much fuel.

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _The Rheiard began to spin around in the air.

"Damn it," Presea muttered under her breath. As the Rheiard spun out of control, Presea closed her eyes and waited for the worst to happen.

Presea opened her eyes. She was lying on the dirt ground in a small clearing inside the Gaoracchia Forest. A fire crackled, and a man stood above her.

"Here," he said. His voice was familiar… "Let me help you up." he offered. Presea didn't reply, and hoisted herself off the ground. "Fine." the stranger said. "Don't get help." Presea stared at the man who had built this fire, and placed her and her Rheiard in this clearing.

"Who are you?" Presea asked, tying her hair back into the ribbon she wore it in. The stranger wore all black clothes. His hair was long, and he wore it in a ponytail. His hair color was similar to that of Regal's.

_Regal…_

Regal's smiling face formed in her mind. How she missed him…but after the journey of regeneration two years ago, he had disappeared. Presea still missed him.

"I cannot tell you," the mysterious man answered. "I just noticed you fall, and I helped you out."

"Then…if you are just a passerby, why won't you tell me your name?" Presea asked. His cheeks flushed red, and he glared at her.

"Don't ask questions." he said angrily. "Now. I fixed your Rheiard."

"Thank you." Presea said. She walked over to her Rheiard and mounted. She started the engine, and hovered in the air. As she flew off, the man called.

"Wait! You never told me who you were!" Presea didn't turn her head.

Back on the ground, the man chuckled as he watched the Rheiard zoom away into the sky.

"See you again soon, Presea." he said, and mounted his Rheiard as he watched hers zoom away on the tracker screen.

Presea scaled the ground, searching for a town to stop in. She decided on the peaceful town of Meltokio. She landed outside the town gates, and used the wing pack to make the Rheiard smaller. She walked inside the city. It was a calm day, and the streets were buzzing with people. Presea had just returned from Lloyd's journey of collecting all the Exspheres. Lloyd's journey was almost finished, so he had let Presea leave.

But now what would she do? She had been gone for four years…Regal had disappeared, and Presea had lost contact with everyone else except for Lloyd. Presea decided to stay in Meltokio, and decide what to do next. After all, Ozette had been destroyed, and she had nowhere else to return to.

"One room please." she said to the man at the inn counter.

"That will be 300 gald." the man replied. Presea handed the money over and headed upstairs to her room. She undid her ribbons, and laid down on the bed.

All of her attention was focused on the stranger she had met earlier. Why did he help her? And most importantly, why wouldn't he give her his name? These thoughts occupied Presea's mind as she fell into a deep sleep.

_She was in Ozette. She was standing next to the shop, Nature's Kitchen. Someone was standing beside her, but she couldn't place who. All she could tell was that they were happy together. A sudden sound of footsteps coming up the hill filled her ears. A stranger appeared. His whole face was cloaked in shadows, along with his body. He drew two swords, and ran towards her. She turned away quickly, but it was too late. He had already caught up with her. The stranger raised the swords over his head…_

_She turned to see if he would help her. He had disappeared. She turned her attention to the stranger…he brought the swords down._

Presea woke up. Beads of sweat dripped down her face, and her hair stuck to her forehead. She brushed her pink hair out of her eyes and got out of the bed. She tied her hair up into the ribbons, and walked outside. It was a couple of hours after dawn. People scrambled around everywhere, trying to get where they wanted to go.

Presea stood in the middle of the crowd, wondering what to do.

"We meet again, _Presea_," the voice that spoke was familiar. Presea whipped around, facing the man that had helped her the day before.

"You!" she yelled as the stranger stepped closer. He was wearing different clothes this time. Today he wore clothes similar to Yuan's, except his clothes were black and gold. He threw off his cape and pulled out a humongous sword.

"Why do you want to fight me? Presea asked. "And who are you?" she said, backing up farther. She had left her ax back in the hotel room…

"I am Nobuhiro." the man replied. "I am here to serve my master is all." He lunged for Presea, but she managed to dodge the attack. She turned left, and ran towards the sewers where she could escape.

"You're not going to escape, Presea." Nobuhiro called, following her. He finally caught up with Presea in the corner of the city. He pointed the blade of the sword at her face.

"Leave Presea ALONE!" came a familiar voice. Presea focused on the new arrival. Standing a few feet away was Genis Sage. He had grown about two feet, and his hair was also longer. He wore a black version of the clothes he had worn on the regeneration journey. In his hands was his Kendama, and he was starting to cast a spell.

"Icicle!" he called, and six sharp icicles shot out of the ground, cutting Nobuhiro in multiple places. Blood trickled from the wounds, and Nobuhiro panted. Presea sprinted off towards Genis.

"Genis." she said calmly. "Thank you for helping me. What are you doing here anyways?"

"I was off visiting Sheena in Mizuho, and decided to stop here for some cooking materials, and heard your voice. I'm glad I did too." He smiled.

At that moment, Nobuhiro picked himself up off the ground and charged towards Genis.

"Watch out!" Presea said, sprinting away towards the sewers.

Nobuhiro raised the sword over his head.

"Goodbye, Genis Sage." he said with a slim smile. He brought the sword down quickly.

"Guardian!" Genis called, and a green blast of energy blocked the attack. Genis ran around, and began to cast his next spell.

"STALAG---"he was cut off as Nobuhiro took the opportunity to attack then and there. He snuck up behind Genis, and struck the sword down his back. Blood flew into the air as Genis screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"Presea…" he said. "Remember…." he coughed up blood. "Remember me, 'kay?" Presea nodded grimly as Genis closed his eyes, never to open them again.

Nobuhiro bent down and wiped the blood of the blade of his sword with Genis's clothes. He dropped the dead body to the ground, and approached Presea. He chuckled.

"This is where your journey ends, Presea." Nobuhiro said, beginning to laugh. He bent down and picked up the Kendama from the ground. He pointed it at a building.

"Fireballs!" he yelled, and three fireballs erupted into the building, setting it on fire. He repeated the process with every building in the city. Soon, the whole town was on fire, and Presea stared, watching the city of Meltokio meet the same fate her village had four years ago.

"Your horrible!" screamed Presea as Nobuhiro laughed at the sight.

"Evil? Hah. You don't even know the definition of evil." he laughed and came closer. He grabbed Presea by the arm, and gripped hard.

"Let go of me!" she screamed. He laughed again, and hit her on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Uhhh…." Presea said. The world became dizzy, and she blacked out.


	2. Journey to Altamira

Presea opened her eyes to a small, dim space.

"What…?" she said to herself, sitting up. She rose off the bed, and walked around. She barely took three steps when she met a stone wall. Presea walked forward, and rattled the cold metal bars that locked her in this cramped space. She rattled them fiercely for a few moments, then gave up. She back down on the cot she had woken up on. The only other item in the room was a grimy looking toilet. She stood up once more, and walked back up to the bars, staring out to see if she could tell where she was.

It appeared she was in a building, a mix between a Renegade base and a Desian ranch. The rocks outside the cage were craggy, and entwined by wires of all colors.

"Hello?" she called. Her call was met by nothing but emptiness. A rustling sound came from beside her, but she took no notice, thinking it was a rat or some other creature. A door opened, and a man stepped in, wearing the same clothes that Nobuhiro had been wearing.

"Presea Combatir," the man said, coming closer. "Good evening."

"What are you getting at?" she said. The man stepped back a few paces.

"Whoa, calm down. I'm just here to give you food."

"Where am I?" she said, becoming angrier with every stupid word the man said.

"Calm down," the man repeated. "You're underground. You're okay." He opened the door to the cell, and stepped slowly inside. Presea glared at the man, and stepped closer to him. He bent down to place the tray in her hands, and she threw it from his arms.

"What's your problem?" the man said. Presea paid no attention. She was too busy looking at the weapon that was on his belt. It was a humongous silver sword. She normally would never use a sword, but until she could escape and purchase a new ax, this would have to do. Quickly, she lunged forward, punched the guard, and stole the sword and sheath from his belt.

"What the? Hey!" But it was too late. Presea had already pulled the lightweight sword out of the sheath. Rapidly, she cut deeply everywhere around his chest.

She left the cell, and walked down a small gray hallway. She finally reached a small door, and opened it. She was in a small hallway, similar to the ones of the Renegade bases. A staircase led down, and into another room.

She walked down to the base of the steps, opened the door, and stepped inside the new room. The new room was split into two hallways. She could go two ways: left, or right. She chose right, and quickly ran into a Renegade soldier.

"Hey!" the soldier called. "You're not supposed to be wandering around here!" She ran over to Presea, her spear pointed at her face. "Don't. Move." Presea brushed the spear out of her face, but in consequence, the blade hit her cheek. Blood dribbled from the wound, but Presea paid no attention. She drew the sword, and pointed it at the Renegade, who was now on the ground. As she stood up, Presea hit her in the back of the head with the hilt of the sword, knocking her out.

Presea turned, and found a small closet room. She stripped the woman of her guard outfit, and threw them on over her own clothes. The sleeves were too long, so Presea cut them off with the blade of the sword. Finally, she placed the helmet over her head as well, which was also too big.

Presea walked back into the hallway. She now turned right, and walked up another flight of stairs. She found a door, left ajar. She walked closer, wondering what was inside. It seemed to be an office, similar to the office of Yuan.

"…seen in Meltokio. Apparently, two of them were there. Combatir and the Sage boy. According to this, the girl killed Sage."

_What are they talking about…_Presea wondered.

"Well, everyone knows that he wasn't the one we're looking for. That's obvious." Both voices were male. One sounded familiar, the other definitely was new.

"That's true. Sage's death isn't _that _important. As for Irving and Bryant and the others, nothing has been seen of them."

"Well, Bryant can be found at the Lezareno company in Altamira. As for Irving, I have no clue where he has gone."

"Regal…" Presea whispered. She had to get word to him, somehow, that he was in danger. Of course she would warn the others, but she felt she was closest to Regal of the whole group. She began to walk away when she heard footsteps. The door opened, and a man stepped out. Presea noticed that the other man who had been in the room had also left. The new man was tall, and had a slim figure. Long, red hair was draped over his shoulders. He reminded Presea of the ex-Chosen, Zelos, except better clothed.

"Who are you?" he said, a puzzled expression clearly showing on his face.

"Um…." Presea said, lost for words. Lying had never been her thing. "I'm…"

"Exactly." the Guard said. He pulled out a long bladed sword with a pale blue blade. "Prepare to die, intruder." This guy was all business. He stepped with elegance, and beauty as he came closer. With god-speed the man swung the sword. Presea barely had time to react.

"Guardian!" Presea yelled as he swung. A bubble of green light surrounded her body, and faded as quickly as it had appeared. Luckily, the sword had hit the spell instead of her. Now it was her turn. She ran up to the man, and punched him in the face. He toppled over onto the ground. Presea placed her foot on his back, and pushed down, smashing his face against the cold floor. She drew the sword and stabbed the sword in the man's back, all in one quick, fluid motion.

"Damn…you…" he said. As his breathing became slower, the guard reached over, and with all his remaining energy managed to push a small red button. The guard closed his eyes, meeting his fate. An alarm began to ring, and a red light flashed.

"Damn it," Presea muttered. Presea began to run down the nearest hallway, but the approaching footsteps told her she wouldn't be getting out as planned.

"So you escaped, _and_ you killed my assistant." It was Nobuhiro.

"Nobuhiro!" Presea cried. "Where am I?"

Nobuhiro chuckled. "You're underground. Didn't Akari tell you that?"

"Yes," Presea defended herself. "But I want to know what this place is called, and _where_ underground this place is!"

"Just know it's underground." Nobuhiro said, flicking a small smile.

"I don't have time for this!" Presea yelled. _I guess I won't be getting any answers now…_

Presea started to run, dropping the sword onto the ground. She barged right past Nobuhiro, and up the staircase. Presea was so preoccupied with getting out of the base that she didn't even notice that Nobuhiro wasn't doing anything about the fact that she was escaping.

_Good luck getting out of here, Presea._ Nobuhiro thought. He chuckled for a minute, then walked off.

At the top of the staircase was another door. It opened automatically, and Presea stepped inside. A ladder lead up the wall, to a door like that of the Meltokio sewer entrance and exit. Presea climbed the ladder, and opened the door. Water flooded the room. Presea jumped out, and the door automatically closed behind her.

Presea stared at her surroundings. She was in a lake. Quickly, Presea began to swim upwards. Presea dared not open her mouth. She just swam. For what seemed like hours, Presea swam and swam and swam. As the light of the surface came into view, Presea became dizzy. Everything started to spin, but Presea didn't give up. Hell, she _couldn't_ give up if she wanted to warn Regal and the others of the danger. Ignoring the dizziness and the fact that she couldn't hold her breath any longer, Presea continued to swim. She was about to pass out when she broke the surface.

Her hair was plastered against her face, and she was out of breath. Presea looked around. She was in the Triet Oasis. The sun was setting over the horizon, turning the sky a beautiful red-orange color. A man on the dock who was talking to his child noticed her.

"Hey!" he called. "What are you doing in the Oasis?" Presea ignored the man, and doggy paddled to the dock. "What were you doing in the Oasis?" the man repeated, his face turning red.

"Swimming," Presea replied, panting.

"What? Swimming? In the Oasis? Where people _drink _their water from?" His face became a beet-red color as Presea nodded. "Why?" the man yelled, a temple throbbing on his forehead.

Presea quickly hoisted herself out of the Oasis.

"I needed exercise." she replied, and ran off towards the inn.

"Wait!" the man called. He was too late. Presea had already gotten a room at the inn.

"Jeez…Triet? I've got a long way to travel tomorrow…." She closed her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to sleep. Hours later Presea rose from the bed and walked outside. It was nighttime, and the streets were deserted. Presea walked around to the oasis. _A whole base…under the desert city Triet. Why Triet?_

"Hey! Wanna play?" came a voice of a small child. Presea turned around. He was a small boy, with black hair and gentle blue eyes.

_He must think that I'm his age, _thought Presea. After all, she was only about two feet taller than him.

"Sure," she said with a grin. "I'll play with you."

"Robert!" someone called. "It's time for bed!"

"Aw, dad!" little Robert yelled. "But my friend…"

"It's ok," Presea said with a smile. "Some other time, okay?"

"Okay!" the boy said with a smile. "Bye!" he walked away, waving at her as he went. Presea however, remained on the dock. She thought about all the things she had learned in the past few hours. Why was this organization after her and the others? Who were they looking for? And just who did that familiar voice belong to? Presea pondered for a long while, until the moon was above her and the stars glittered. She walked off the dock, and back to the inn. She closed the door behind her, undid her ribbons, and laid down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, until finally she drifted off into sleep.

Presea awoke as the rays of the morning sunlight snuck through the curtains to the room. She rose from the bed, and realized the journey she had to go through today.

_I'd better hurry up,_ she thought. _The more time I waste, the less time Regal has until he gets captured…_

Quickly, Presea tied her ribbons onto her hair and walked out of Triet. Pulling the Rheiard out of the wing pack, and took off instantly. She zoomed quickly over the forests and cities, remembering the journey of regeneration as she traveled. What a glorious journey….

Nearing the rocks that lead to the city of Flanoir and the Temple of Ice, Presea knew she had gone too far. Presea turned the Rheiard around, and flew back towards the island that Altamira was located on. As the humongous hotel of Altamira came into sight, Presea hoped that she wasn't too late.

Presea landed outside the village, placed the Rheiard back into the Wing Pack, and stepped inside the village. Quickly, she ran over to the elemental railway and told the driver to take her to the Lezareno Company. The driver started the elemental railway, and soon, Presea arrived inside the Lezareno Company headquarters.

"Crap," muttered Presea under her breath. "I can't ride the elevator unless I have an employee ID, and Lloyd has that…well, its worth a try." She walked up to the guards who stood watch in front of the two elevators. "Excuse me, but I need to see the President." she said, using the sweetest voice she could muster.

"The President has asked that nobody disturbs him during these hours each day." the guard replied with a stiff and lifeless voice.

"But…Why?"

"If you do not have an employee ID, then I cannot let you enter. I'm sorry, miss." The elevator suddenly shifted. Presea watched as the numbers over the elevator shifted from three, to two, finally to one…

"What is going on down…" Regal stood in the center of the elevator, his face the same as Presea remembered it had been. His blue hair was exactly the same, but instead of the short shirt and gray-green pants he had worn on the journey of regeneration, Regal now wore a black suit and red tie. "Pre…sea?" the tall man said, dazed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the journey to destroy all the Exspheres with Lloyd?"

"I'll explain later. For now, can we just go to your office?"

"Of course." he said, smiling. "As for you," he said, acknowledging the guard. "I know that I told you I was not to be disturbed, but one of my friends from the Journey of Regeneration are an exception." The guard nodded, listening intently to his boss.

"Yes sir." he replied with a nod.

"Come with me, Presea." Regal said. Presea walked passed the guard, and into the elevator. The elevator started, and went up to the third floor where Regal's office was located. Regal allowed Presea to step into the familiar office first, then himself. He settled himself in the chair behind his big desk, and shunned George out of the room for the moment. Presea sat down in one of the extremely comfortable chairs. As George left the room, Regal focused his attention on her. "What brings you here, Presea?" he asked, a look of concern showing obviously on his face.

"Regal, we're all in danger…"

A/N: Woot! My first authors note! Yay! First of all, today is one of my good friends birthdays, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Now…I'm gonna need a beta-reader, for this, so if anyone wants to, leave a review or something…Now time to thank the reviewers….the amazing Dragonwings144, my loyal Pendragon reviewer PotatoPuff, and my best friend Ady! If you review, I'll give you a cookie. So review, please, and you'll get some cookies! Till next update!


	3. Sleepover At Regal's

"Interesting…" Regal said, rubbing his chin with his right hand. Presea had just finished explaining to the President of the Lezareno Company of the current situation that was arising. "Well," Regal said. "Shall we find the others and tell them about this also?"

"Yes," Presea replied. "But first, I need to buy a new axe."

"Then we shall wait until tomorrow to depart." Regal said. "I'd be honored if you were my guest."

"All right," agreed Presea. "I think," Presea said. "I think I'll go visit my sister. After all, it's been awhile since I last saw her." Presea rose from the chair, and walked back to the elevator. She pressed the button for the roof of the company, and the elevator set off. As it stopped on the roof of the building, Presea steppd in front of the grave. She sat down crosslegged in front of the grave, and stared at where he sister rested. Lost in memories of the past with her sister, before her father died, before the exsphere had been planted in her body, Presea didn't noticed the tall shadow forming behind her. She quickly turned around, to see Regal standing behind her.

"Oh," she said with a sigh of relief. "It's you, Regal."

"Yes," he said. "Well, it's…good to see you again, Presea." Regal said, standing beside the girl.

"Yes, you too." she said. "If you don't mind, could I have a moment alone with my sister?"

"Of course," Regal said, understanding. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." He left the roof of the Lezareno company and returned to his office.

"Alicia…" Presea said. "I've returned from my journey with Lloyd. Now that I think about it, Lloyd's almost like an older brother to me now. He saved me more than once on that journey." Even though Presea knew that her sister wouldn't reply, it still comforted her to talk after six long years of being away from…would she call Altamira her new home? After all, her sister resided here…Presea wondered if there was another reason she felt so much at home in this delightful seaside place.

Presea placed her hand on the grave. "Goodbye again, Alicia. I'll take care." She left the roof of the building, and back to Regal's office.

"Alright, I'm ready."

"Okay." Regal said, signing a slip of paper on his desk. "I have a little more work to do. Can you come back here in about…half an hour?"

"Sure," Presea replied, and left the Lezareno Company. She rode the Elemental Expressway back to the station, and decided to go to the hotel. She could probably buy a new axe there.

Presea walked over to the enormous hotel, passing the bunny girls as she made her way to the second floor of the hotel. Resting a hand on the counter to Wild Card, she assured the storekeeper that she didn't need any help and could get her own weapon. As her eyes gazed on the magical cards next to it reminded her of Sheena, whom she thought of as a great friend. An enormous axe, with a thin, yet sturdy handle and a sleek looking enormous blade suddenly caught Presea's eye. It was perfect; and a perfect fit in her hands as well. She picked it up, and turned it in her hands. It was amazingly light, but everything seemed to hold up like it was supposed to.

"I'll take this ax," Presea said to the man at the counter.

"That will be 3600 gald," the man said. Even though the price was high, Presea paid for the weapon and left the hotel. Carrying the heavy package over her shoulder, Presea went and stood over the ledge of the water. She placed the package containing the ax on the ground, and watched the water drift away as a tall, familiar shadow appeared.

"Presea," said a deep voice. Regal was suddenly standing beside her. "Are you ready to go to my house for the night, or do you want to spend some more time in the city?" Presea looked up at the man, who was now only about two feet taller than her.

"I'm ready to leave," she replied.

"Then let us go." Regal said. "Follow me. This might be a long walk." Regal led Presea to the outskirts of Altamira.

"Regal…" Presea said. "Where _do _you live? You never told us back during the Journey of Regeneration…"

A thin smile formed on Regal's lips. "You'll see in a few minutes,  
he said. "I promise. Now, come." Regal walked through the town gates, and motioned for Presea to follow. She had stayed rooted to the spot, caught up in watching something float in the river from a distance. It looked to be kind of like a boat. Finally she moved closer to Regal, and the two left Altamira.

Regal and Presea walked down a dirt path, on the small island that contained Altamira. A tall forest came into view, but the couple avoided it and continued to travel.

"What's in there?" Presea asked.

"They say there is a secret contained in that forest, but I have been there many times, and there is no such secret."

"Interesting." Presea said. They made the rest of the trip in silence. Finally, on the edge of the lengthy island, a large house loomed in the distance.

"Is that your house?" Presea asked. Regal showed a hinted a smile and nodded, as the extravagant house came closer and closer. The couple arrived at the double doors. Regal opened them, and cool air blasted Presea's face. The air was refreshing after being in the heat for the long walk. The front door opened into a lavishly furnished living room, with many couches and chairs scattered around the room. A coffee table was in the center of the room, and a red velvet staircase on the left side. Four doors lead to different rooms.

"Alphonse," Regal called, and a man wearing a black suit with slicked over hair appeared in front of him. "Take my guest, Presea, to her room. Dinner will be ready soon, Presea." Presea nodded and followed Alphonse up the staircase, through a short hallway, and into a large wooden door.

"I will come to get you when dinner is ready, miss." Alphonse said. Presea nodded as Alphonse left, closing the door behind him. Presea walked into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked weary, and depressed. Her face was pale, and her eyes dreary.

_You never get good sleep at those inns, _she thought to herself. Presea splashed cold water on her face, and watched the water drip down onto the countertop as a knock came at the door.

"Dinner is ready, miss Presea." Presea dried off her face with a towel and walked out of the door. She followed Alphonse through the house and through a backdoor, into a massive courtyard, filled with flowers of all kinds and colors. The courtyard gave Presea a feeling of peace and calmness. A small table was in the center of all the hedges, with Regal sitting in one of the two chairs. He motioned for Presea to join him, and Presea walked over to the table and sat down.

"Hello, Presea." Regal said. "The food should be out here soon." He smiled, but as quickly as his smile appeared, it disappeared and Regal became deadly serious. "Presea, why did you come to me first? You could have gone and saw Sheena, or Colette, or Zelos…why'd you choose me?" Presea's face turned a shade of dark red as she strained her mind to find an answer.

"Well…" Presea said, not sure why nothing would come to mind. It wasn't like she was keeping a secret from Regal or anything…or was she?

"You can tell me, Presea. I trust what you say."

"I like Altamira. It's a peaceful town. And I figured that I'd need to visit my sister sometime." she paused at stared at Regal, who nodded to keep going. "And…you're a smart guy, I figured you would have the best strategy as for what to do."

"I see…" Regal said. At that moment, Alphonse appeared, with two plates of steaming food.

"Dinner is served." he said, and set both plates on the table. Alphonse disappeared back into the house, and Regal continued to talk.

"So where do you think we should go tomorrow? We have a lot of places to go to…"

"Mizuho." Presea answered immediately. "It's closest, and I haven't seen Sheena for a while now."

"Yes, that seems like a good plan," agreed Regal, eating away at his food while Presea picked at hers, barely eating any. Regal noticed, and spoke up. "Is something wrong with the food, Presea?" Presea shook her head.

"I'm just not very hungry, that's all." Regal nodded to show his understanding.

"Presea," he said, not looking at her face. "I'm…glad you came here. It's good to see you again."

"It's…good to see you again too," Presea said, blushing. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence; when Presea was done eating, she got up from the table, bid goodnight to Regal, and stepped back inside the house. She walked to her room, undid her ponytails, and drifted off to sleep.

----------------

Presea awoke to a burst of sunlight through the window. She rose up from the bed and stretched, and walked out of the room. She walked down the stairs, and into the living room, where a sweet smell of food filled her nose.

Presea walked into the kitchen and sat down at a small table. Regal suddenly appeared, wearing a purple apron that read "Cook." He placed an omelet on Presea's plate, and sat down next to her.

"Well, you look different today," he commented, talking about Presea's hair.

"Oh…thanks, Regal." Presea loved it when Regal cooked. Back on the journey of Regeneration, when Genis wouldn't cook, Regal would always stepped up to the plate. He was an excellent cook.

"When you are done eating, we need to quickly go to Altamira, so I can tell George of my leave of absence. Then we can depart for Mizuho."

"Okay," Presea said, swallowing the last bite of her food. Both her and Regal left the kitchen. Quickly, Presea tied her hair into bows and changed out of her pajamas into her regular dress. When she had changed, she walked into the living room and sat down on a couch.

A few minutes later, Regal appeared, stuffing ingredients, clothes and a few apple gels into a small bag. He quickly explained a few things to Alphonse about the house, and turned towards Presea.

"Are you ready?" he said. Presea nodded and rose from the couch. She followed Regal out the door, and out onto the island. From his wing pack, Regal pulled out his Rheiard. Presea mimicked him, and the two rose into the air and flew to Altamira.

As Presea and Regal neared Altamira, Regal stopped midair for an unknown reason.

"Wait a moment, Presea." he said. He listened closely. Besides the wind, the area was silent. Regal continued towards Altamira, followed closely by Presea. Regal landed his Rheiard, and rushed into the city. Presea followed him a second later.

Presea gasped as she entered the joyful town. Altamira was empty. Ever single person had disappeared. Altamira had become a ghost town in a matter of hours.

"What the hell happened?" Regal said. "Everyone is gone!"

"This is strange…" Presea said. Suddenly, for the corner of her eye, Presea saw a quick glimpse of movement. She turned, quickly, just in time to see a figure dressed in all black clothes run away from the sight. "Regal! C'mon! It's one of those guys that I told you about that kidnapped me!" Presea ran off, hoping to catch the…enemy. She could hear Regal's boots against the ground, and it comforted her to see him follow her. The stranger turned to the left, close to the station for the Elemental Railway. He turned back, saw that he was being chased, and ran faster, hoping to get to the Elemental Railway before Presea and Regal could catch up.

"Presea! Get him!" yelled Regal from behind her. "There are more over here. You just get that one!" Presea nodded to show she heard, and leapt towards the stranger right as he hopped onto the Elemental Railway. Presea managed to grab onto the leg of his pants, sending him to the ground. His face hit the cement hard, and blood flew everywhere.

"You will tell me all I demand from you," Presea said, holding the man down on the ground. "Who are you, and what the hell happened to the people who lived here?"

"I am Lar, a worker for Dessara."

"Dessara?" Presea said. "What's Dessara?" Lar chose not to answer. Instead, he kicked Presea in the stomach, making her stumble backwards. The fact that she had just eaten didn't make the situation any better either. Before she could recover from the pain, Lar jumped off the ground and disappeared out of the city.

"Presea!" Regal called, coming to where she was sitting on the ground, clutching her stomach. "Are you okay?" Presea nodded, and noticed the figured standing next to Regal. He was a boy, about five feet tall with blonde hair.

"Mithos…" muttered Presea under her breath. Luckily, no one heard her. "Yeah, I'm fine." she answered, slowly coming to her senses again. She picked herself off the ground, and dusted off her dress. "Who's he?" she say, turning her head towards the boy.

"This is Amara." Regal said. "He was being taken by the man in black. So, I killed the man and rescued this boy."

"Do you think he could end up like Mithos? Betraying us?"

"No. He won't be traveling with us. He's going to give us information." Regal turned his head towards Amara. "What happened here?" he asked. Tears began to drip down the boy's face.

"My parents…and the rest of the villagers….they…they….they got kidnapped by those men in black!" he said, tears falling down off his face.

"What could they be looking for…" Regal said to himself.

"The guy I chased down said he worked for something called Dessara." Presea said.

"Dessara…" Regal said. "Sounds like its from the elves." He turned again, towards Amara. "Amara, can you fend for yourself? The resort wasn't destroyed. There should be food, right?" The boy nodded, wiping away his tears with his arm. "Good. Let us leave, Presea. Nothing is left here. We need to figure out what's going on, and get the villagers back here." Regal paused, and looked at the deserted resort. "This used to be such a peaceful place." Regal and Presea walked to the gates of the town, and released the Rheiards from the wing packs. They quickly flew out into the air, towards Mizuho.

--------------------------

As soon as the kind man who helped him disappeared, Amara stared around at his deserted city.

"I wish that man would've taken me with him…" he said sadly with a sigh. A sudden rush of footsteps filled Amara's ears. He turned around, to see another man wearing black clothes. He back away, scared of the man.

"Stay away from me!" he cried. "You're going to take me away!" the man in the dark clothes laughed.

"No, no, no, no." he said. "You've got it all wrong, Amara my friend. I want you to come with me. To a wonderful place. With food, and you might even get to see your family again."

"My family?" Amara said. "Are they safe?"

"They are very safe," the man in dark clothes said, walking closer to the boy. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "So what do you say? Will you come with me, or not?" The little boy thought about this offer.

"I'll come." he said.

_Excellent,_ thought Lar. _This boy just may be the one we're looking for…_

---------------------

"That confirms it," Regal said, flying close to Presea. "They're not finding what they want, so they're taking whole towns. Luckily, they didn't destroy the town like they did Meltokio. But just what could this Dessara want?"

"I'm not sure," answered Presea. "Maybe Sheena has some information about this."  
"Yeah," Regal said. "And we could get Mizuho's information network to help us too."

"Good idea," Presea said. A couple of minutes later, Presea and Regal neared the hidden village of Mizuho. Presea didn't even bother looking to see if villagers had started to rebuild Ozette, because she knew they hadn't, and probably never would.

Presea landed her Rheiard outside of the gates of Mizuho and placed it in her wing pack. She followed Regal inside, and came face to face with the ninja Orochi.

"Regal! Presea!" Orochi said as they entered the hidden village. "It has been awhile!"

"Yes," Regal said. "Where is Sheena? We need to see her."

"Sheena?" Orochi said. He lowered his head in sorrow, and his voice became softer. "You mean you haven't heard?" Presea became suddenly alert after hearing Orochi's words.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Sheena disappeared about…two weeks ago. Nobody has seen her since. The information network has declared her dead."

**A/N:**Man, that took me a long time to write. Sorry about the delay, I got sick for two days, delaying the chapter, and then I got writers block. And…it will probably be awhile before I update again, because I also am writing a fan fiction for the book Pendragon…so while your waiting for me to update, check out my friend Dragonwings144's Tales of Symphonia fan fiction, Runaway. She has twenty-four chapters, so unless you read all of them in one day like I did, that should keep people occupied until the next chapter. J Sorry for the long authors note! Thanks to my reviewers: Dragonwings144, PotatoPuff, and phantom4angel.


	4. Enter, Zelos!

Before the chapter gets underway, I'd like to throw out a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge shoutout to Dragonwings144 for helping me out with this chapter. I appreciate it. Thank you!

As the red Rheiard speeded through the air and rounded a corner, the rider, a slender man of about twenty-five years of age with long, wavy red hair to match his red outfit gawked as he saw a billow of smoke rising from his hometown of Meltokio.

"What the hell is going on here?" the ex-Chosen, Zelos Wilder exclaimed. "Smoke? Coming from _my_ Meltokio? I hope it wasn't my house, and if it was, I hope my hunnies got out okay! I mean, I can always build another house…" he slowed down his Rheiard, and landed in front of the burned down town gates. "What could have happened here?" Zelos stepped farther into the city to find every single building in sight had either burned down or was burned enough so that it was unsuitable to live or work in.

Zelos ran up the large staircase and into the rich area of the town. This part of town was worse than the entrance area. Every single house had been razed to the ground, Zelos's included. "Damn, this is crazy." Zelos said out loud. "Either this was one _crazy_ fire, or someone spread it with magic. My hunch is that it was magic…"

Zelos decided to walk around the town, seeing the destruction that was caused by the magical fire and maybe trying to find a survivor or two. Zelos walked down the staircase, and to the left part of Meltokio close to the sewers. As he walked toward the sewer grate, a body lying on the ground in the corner got Zelos's attention. Something about the body made him stop in his tracks, nervously tapping his feet. Black clothes and a familiar shock of silver hair. Zelos knew he had seen them somewhere before, but the feeling of dread deep in his gut refused to let him believe what he saw.

He looked away. That was not Genis Sage lying dead there on the floor like a slaughtered animal. If anyone was gonna kill Genis, it was gonna be his psycho sister with her wacked out cooking. As he stood there, refusing to admit that his buddy was gone and refusing to admit that it was not the smoke that made his eyes start to burn and water, he saw an axe. He picked it up, noticing the shoddy handle and the rusted blade. Definately Presea's axe. Only she would have walked around with this shameful butter knife. "We have a murder mystery going on here," he said, not forgetting his annoying habit of speaking his thoughts out loud even in face of this tragedy. "I'd better go find Presea…but where could she have gone? Lets see, she was probably just with Lloyd, so she didn't go to Iselia, Genis is dead also, so that leaves…Mizuho and Altamira. I think I'll go to Altamira first." He swallowed thickly. "And the dead need to be buried."

Zelos walked out of the town several hours later, when it was dark. His clothes were soiled from dirt and sweat, and he still denied the tears running down his face. He mounted his red Rheiard, flew high into the air, and zoomed off over the ocean towards the giant resort of Altamira. A couple of minutes later, Zelos landed in front of the town. The familiar music from the amusement park didn't fill his ears and no voluptuous bunny girls treated his eyes. Feeling the same sick dread, he jumped off the Rheiard, and dusted off his white pants. He walked through the town gates, and into…nothing. The whole town was deserted. The beach, the hotel, the streets, all empty. Even the cute girls dressed in bunny outfits had disappeared. Zelos began to walk around the town, looking for clues like he had found last time. Would he find another dead body or a weapon? He paced around, but found nothing.

"Well," Zelos said to the emptiness. "Guess I'm goin' to Mizuho. I hope-" A familiar pang- "That place isn't destroyed." Zelos walked out of the resort, and mounted his Rheiard once again. He sped through the air, and as the small hidden village of Mizuho came into view, two slender figures zoomed passed him at dangerous speeds, ripping his pants because they were so close. Zelos turned around and yelled, trying not to let his voice quaver.

"HEY YOU LITTLE PUNK! FLY SLOWER! AND WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING NEXT TIME!" He stopped yelling as he noticed the pink and blue hair of the riders.

"Presea? Regal?" Zelos turned the Rheiard around, and sped towards Regal and Presea's Rheiards, which were creeping farther and farther away from him. "WAIT UP!" Zelos yelled at the top of his lungs. Nobody even turned a head. They continued to fly. Zelos sped up his Rheiard to a dangerous speed, and zoomed towards them. An alarm started to sound, telling him to slow down, but Zelos ignored it and continued to fly. As he neared his close friends, Zelos started to yell again. "Presea!" he yelled. "Regal! Wait up!" He had finally got their attention. Presea turned around, nodded to show she saw him, and turned around to speak to Regal. They stopped midair, and waited for Zelos who had slowed down his Rheiard.

"Zelos?" Regal said. "What do you need?"

"Meltokio…" he was short of breath after his high speed chase. "Meltokio…was burned down! Altamira was abandoned! Genis is _dead_! What the hell is going on?"

"We know," Regal said. "Follow us, Zelos, we're on our way to Iselia. We'll tell you when we arrive there, all right?" Zelos nodded, as the Rheiards began to travel once again.

"Well if it isn't my little angel Presea," Zelos said, though his voice sounded unusually dead pan as the group flew through the air. "How have you been?"

"Good," she replied, turning her head and smiling at Zelos. He smiled back, and almost crashed into Regal for not paying attention to the skies. The group flew for about an hour, until they finally saw the ruins of the Iselia Desian human ranch in the distance. They landed outside of Dirk's house, and saw a familiar figure through the window. Zelos followed behind Presea and Regal across the bridge of logs and to the front door of Lloyd's house. Regal knocked on the door three times, and the door opened.

"Presea! Regal! Zelos!" came the happy voice of Lloyd Irving. His brown hair was slightly longer than Zelos remembered it, but his red clothes he was known for remained the same. A few moments later Lloyd was joined by Raine Sage, who had a worried expression on her face. "Come on in," Lloyd said.

"More friends, Lloyd?" said Dirk.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied with a smile. "You guys came just in time. Raine just came to tell me about Genis. She was beginning as you knocked. Come on upstairs." He walked up the stairs, and everyone followed.

"Raine?" Zelos said, trying to place a hand on her shoulder and tell her about her brother. Raine ignored him, thinking he was just trying to cop a feel. Zelos swallowed nervously and just sat down on the floor, hoping someone else would break the news. It was obvious she didn't know yet. Lloyd remained standing, and Regal leaned against the wall.

"All right," Raine said. "As I was saying, Genis has disappeared. He was going to Meltokio to compete in a coliseum battle to test some new magic, and hasn't returned yet, and I was wondering if Lloyd knew anything."

"I don't know anything." he said. "Sorry Professor, but I just got back. I was about to go leave so I could go see Sheena when you came." From the corner of his eye, Zelos saw Regal whisper something into Presea's ear.

"Uh, Lloyd? Raine?" piped up Presea. "I know where both of them are." her voice became softer, and a her face showed a look of deep compassion. "Raine, Genis was killed." she paused for a moment so that her words could sink in. Zelos frowned, even though he already knew this. "He was killed by a man named Nobuhiro, who works for something called Dessara. Nobuhiro kidnapped me, and took me to a base under the Triet oasis. There I found out that this Dessara is looking for something…someone. Then, I went to Altamira to speak to Regal, and as we were about to leave to tell Sheena, we found Altamira abandoned and a man wearing clothes similar to Nobuhiro's, so we knew that they're kidnapping people."

"What are they looking for in a person…" Lloyd wondered aloud.

"I'm not finished," Presea said. "Regal and I then traveled to Mizuho to find that Sheena had disappeared. Orochi told us that…that…" she paused, unable to continue. She glanced at Regal, who nodded and continued with the story.

"Orochi told us that Sheena had disappeared about a month ago, and that the information network declared her dead." As Regal's words faded, the room became deadly silent. Zelos was entwined in his thoughts as he slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"So Sheena and Genis are both dead," Raine said, her voice flat. "This isn't good."

"Dammit!" yelled Lloyd. "We gotta find her! I doubt that she's dead! Sheena's too strong to die!"

"Lloyd, even the strongest of people d- d- die," Raine said, her arms crossed and her shoulders hunched. Still she continued, her voice breaking even more with every word. The other heroes gave each other alarmed looks, uncertain whether to leave her alone in her grief or try to comfort her. "Mizuho's information network is barely ever ruh-wrong. I think it would- would be- would be wise to believe th-that she's.."

Raine stopped, her mouth slightly open as she tried to finish her sentance, the tears steadily flowing down her cheeks. Lloyd gently put an arm around her shoulder, pulling out a handkerchief and offering it to her.

Zelos, who had been silent the entire time, finally decided to speak.  
"We should go to this Dessara guy and beat the living crap out of him!" he yelled, unsure what to say during such an emotional moment.

"We can't just go right back to Triet and invade the base," Regal said, averting his eyes from Raine to try and give her some privacy. "We need to wait a little longer, let them think they're winning. Let's wait until they come to Iselia before we make our next move."

"I agree with Regal," Raine said, surprising them. "We also need to build up our strength and formulate a plan of action."

Night had fallen as the group of friends had discussed everything that was happening. The moon shone brightly through the window.

"Do you think we should quit for the night?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes," Raine said. "Presea, you can spend the night at my place. You can use Genis's bed."

"Okay," Presea replied. She and Raine rose from the floor and walked out of the house and into the night, beginning the journey through the forest back to Iselia. Zelos hoped that his friends would be okay, since there were monsters in the forest and it was nighttime…

"Well," Lloyd said. "I guess we're staying here tonight, right Lloyd?" Zelos said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice, his hair bouncing as he jumped up and down.

"Yup," Lloyd said. "You guys can stay here."

"I will sleep outside," Regal said. He rose from the wall, and walked down the stairs. "Goodnight, Zelos. Goodnight, Lloyd."

"Goodnight," Lloyd and Zelos said simultaneously. Regal walked down the stairs, and soon the sound of the door slamming shut filled Zelos's ears.

"Guess its just you and me, buddy." Zelos said, slapping Lloyd on the back.

"Yeah," Lloyd said. "I wonder why Regal wanted to sleep outside."

"Let him be," Zelos said. "He's gotta be macho all the time."

Lloyd sighed. "Sure, Zelos." he said.

A couple minutes later, a mattress was set up in the center of Lloyd's bedroom. Zelos plopped down onto the bed, wearing red pajamas.

"Ahh, I'm beat." he said. Lloyd entered the room wearing a white undershirt and purple shorts. He sat down on his bed, and stared at the ceiling.

"I should visit Colette tomorrow," he said. "I haven't seen her for a while…"

"Colette…" Zelos said. He suddenly began to get sleepy. "Yeah, it's been way too lo...nngh."

"Zelos?" Lloyd said. "Zelos?" he was fast asleep and snoring. Lloyd sighed and finally fell asleep.

-------------

As the morning dawned, Zelos opened his eyes to bright sunlight flooding the room of the small Iselia house. He rose from the mattress, and walked down the stairs. Still not completely awake, he walked into the kitchen scratching his head. A few giggles came from the table, and Zelos became wide awake. Those giggles were familiar.

"My darling Colette!" Zelos said, whipping around to face the ex-Chosen.

"Hey Zelos," Colette said, giggling. "Nice pajamas. They match your hair nicely." Zelos grinned.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like them." He sat down at the table, where a feast had been set out for him. He grabbed a plate, and started to chow down on just about everything. Lloyd came in through the door.

"Good morning, Zelos." He was followed closely behind by Regal.

"Good morning, Zelos." he said. He then turned his attention towards Colette. "Hello, Colette. It's been quite awhile." He shut the door behind him.

"Hi, Regal!" Colette said, grinning. "It's good to see you!" The door suddenly burst open, and Presea and Raine barged into the small house.

"Everyone!" Raine said, panting. "On our way here, Presea found this card in the forest." From one of her coat pockets, Raine pulled out a slender tan card. Magical writing was in the center of the paper. Instantly, everyone knew who the card belonged to.

Sheena had been through the Iselia Forest.

This chapter came kinda fast for me, and that's because I wanted to update everything before I go to New York! So, that means nothing will be updated for about...a week maybe? I'm not exactly sure. Thanks to phanton4angel and Dragonwings144 for reviewing!


	5. Enter, Krystal!

Presea stared at the card in Raine's hand, wondering where Sheena had been taken. She could have been taken somewhere in Iselia…maybe there was another underground base there.

"What happened with Sheena?" Colette asked, a clear look of concern showing on her face.

"Sheena was…declared dead by Mizuho's information network," Raine said. "And…Genis was…" she paused, and let the tears fall down her face. Lloyd wrapped his arm around Raine's shoulders, and handed her the handkerchief from before. Raine dabbed her eyes, and continued. "Genis was killed." she said, trying to stay tough.

Presea went on to explain the rest of the long story to Colette. After she was finished, a look of sorrow filled Colette's usually perky face.

"Ah, cheer up, Colette," Zelos said, copying Lloyd by putting his arm around her shoulder. "We're gonna avenge their deaths, and kick the shit out of this Dessara guy!" Zelos smiled, but everyone else just nodded in agreement.

"Well," Lloyd said, standing up from his chair. "What should we do now? I think I need to train a little bit…"

"I will also train," Regal said.

"How bout you, Professor?" Lloyd asked.

"Let's go shopping!" Colette said, now cheerful. Zelos jumped out of his chair.

"Can I come?" Zelos said, his face lighting up with excitement.

"Sure!" Colette said with a smile. She turned to Presea. "Do you want to come, Presea?" she said. "It'd be fun if you did!" Presea shook her head.

"I need to train a little with my new axe," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Colette said. "Another time. Ok! Let's go!" Colette walked out the door, followed closely by Zelos, and then Raine.

"Well," Lloyd said. "Should we start training now?" Everyone nodded, and the two boys and Presea walked out the door and into the Iselia forest. They found a large clearing, and Lloyd drew his twin swords. Regal stepped up, ready for battle with his feet. Presea drew her new axe, and dusted a small dab of dirt from the blade.

"I'm going to practice some new moves," Lloyd said. "Do you two want to fight against each other?"

"I agree to that," Regal said calmly. Presea nodded in agreement. She was excited. Back on the Journey of Regeneration, she had always envied the way that Regal fought. To her, he was the best fighter. Presea gripped the handle of the axe harder, and grabbed onto it with her left hand. She knew how she would begin this battle.

Before Regal knew what was happening, Presea lunged forward towards him. She gripped the axe tightly, and prepared to make the first move.

"Beast!" she yelled, as a blue lions head emitted from the axe, knocking Regal to the ground. Before he could get up, Presea ran over to him and pointed the axe's blade in his face. Regal smiled, and used his right leg to trip her. Presea fell to the ground, and watched as Regal flipped upwards and stood once again. Presea rose from the ground, and picked up her axe. She charged towards Regal, sweat dripping down her forehead. Regal remained calm, and as she approached he jumped into the air. Presea stayed where she was standing as Regal landed on her, and jumped off, giving her an opportunity to stand.

Presea stood up, and watched the blood drip from her arm. She now had a nasty scratch. Presea started to run towards Regal, pointing the blade of the axe at his face. It was her turn to attack now. She raised the blade over her head, and swung down hard. Regal dodged out of the way just in time, but the blade did manage to have impact with Regal's well toned arm. A small cut formed, and blood appeared on the spot. Regal noticed, but didn't do anything about it. He stopped moving, and Presea thought about taking advantage of his stillness and have no mercy…but she decided against it. She stayed standing at the same spot, trying to stop the bleeding. Regal, she noticed, had done nothing about his wound, the only wound that Presea could bring herself to give Regal. Finally, after what felt like forever, Regal shifted slightly and spoke.

"Presea," he said softly. "I must resign from this fight." With those words, he began to leave the clearing.

"What?" Presea called after him. "What are you doing?" Regal didn't reply, instead he walked out of the clearing. Secretly though, Presea was glad that he had resigned. For one, he was beating the crap out of her. And secondly, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him.

_Am I losing my touch? _Presea wondered. _Have I been out of it for so long that I've lost my fighting touch? _

"Presea," the calming voice of Lloyd shot through her thoughts like a bullet. "Since Regal left, do you want to fight against me?"

"Yes," Presea replied. _This will be my chance to see if I really did lose my touch. _She picked up her axe from the ground as Lloyd drew his twin swords that weren't so much twins. Presea remembered him killing many creatures with the fire and water swords on the journey to destroy the Ex-spheres. Lloyd raised his swords, and lunged for Presea.

"Sonic _thrust!_" Lloyd yelled, thrusting his sword quickly at Presea. Presea managed to predict the move, having seen it in action millions of times, but she had been a bit too slow and the blade had nicked her stomach. A little blood was dripping, but nothing was too serious.

Lloyd suddenly disappeared. Presea glanced around everywhere, but still couldn't find him. Finally, she heard a _Phwick! _and saw Lloyd in the sky, preparing to do his Rising Falcon attack. Presea quickly dodged as Lloyd crashed down onto the earth, stunned his attack missed. He never missed! Presea smiled and ran towards Lloyd, pointing the blade of her axe at his face. As she drew nearer, Lloyd raised his hand up.

"Presea, stop." he said. "It's almost sunset. We should go back to my house to see what's happening. Everyone else is probably back." Lloyd started up the path, and Presea followed close behind, dragging her axe alongside her. After a few minutes of silent walking, Presea and Lloyd arrived outside of Lloyd's house. A dim light lit the upstairs window, and shadows danced around inside.

"Let's go in," Lloyd said, opening the door. "I'm home Dad," Lloyd said as he passed Dirk.

"Hello, Lloyd," the dwarf said. "Hello Presea," Presea nodded in response and followed Lloyd up the stairs to the second floor. As she entered the room, Presea watched as Zelos paced around the room, a look of concern on his face.

"Lloyd!" he said excitedly when they entered the room. "Presea! I need your help! Colette was captured by a Wyvern, and taken to their lair! We have to save her! Regal already went, but I doubt he can do too much about it since he fights with his feet…"

"We've got to save her!" Lloyd shouted. "C'mon, lets go!" Lloyd ran down the stairs, and was followed by Zelos and Presea. The group shot out the door, and removed the Rheiards from the Wing Packs and mounted. "Where did you go shopping, Zelos?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, we shopped in Altamira, but Colette got kidnapped on the way back here. The lair is close to the Ossa Trail." Lloyd nodded, and took off towards the Ossa Trail. As they neared the trail, the sun began to disappear behind the horizon. Zelos pointed a small cave high up in the cliffs, and Presea saw a faint outline of two Rheiards. Presea navigated her Rheiard over to where the two other figures were.

"Hello, Presea," Raine said.

"Hello, Raine," Presea replied, squinting to see into the cave. Inside, she could barely see the figures of ten or twelve Wyverns. "Are we going inside?" Presea asked.

"Yeah, lets go inside!" Lloyd said. "Colette, here we come!" The group slowly moved towards the cave, looking down at the path they had first met Sheena on, the Ossa Trail. "Sheena…" murmured Lloyd from beside Presea. "Where are you? Are you really dead?" Presea was wondering the same thing as they came to the edge of the cliff, the cave entrance. Presea dismounted her Rheiard, and stood still while everyone else followed suit. When everyone was standing outside the cave, Lloyd spoke.

"Ok, what's the plan?" he asked. The question floated around, but no one responded. "Okay…how bout we go in there, and just kill them all and get Colette back!"

"We need to be more strategic than that," Regal, who had not spoken to Presea since earlier, said.

"I agree," Raine and Presea said simultaneously.

"Sounds good to me," Zelos said.

"All right, fine." Lloyd said. "Uh…how bout we everyone like attacks a different Wyvern or something…"

"Someone will need to keep watch from out here," Raine said. "Just in case the one that has Colette decides to fly away."

"I will." Regal said.

"Let's go inside," Lloyd said. He drew his swords, and ran off inside. He was followed by Zelos, Raine, and finally Presea. Before she entered the cave, she shot a glance back at Regal. He seemed troubled by something that she couldn't place by his expression by just looking at his face. She turned away, and stepped inside. She picked up her axe, and targeted a Wyvern.

"There's too many!" Lloyd said, as a new flock of the Wyvern emerged from deeper in the cave. One of them held Colette in it's talons.

"Lloyd!" Colette cried. "Zelos! Help me!"

"Dammit!" Lloyd yelled, hacking away at another dragon like creature. "We have to help her! There are just too many of these damn things!" Presea swung again with her axe, killing her first Wyvern, and moved to another.

"Beast!" she cried, just as it began to shoot a ray of fire at her. The Wyvern fell to the ground, dead. A new enemy appeared, just as Presea wiped the blue blood from the blade of her axe. "Damn, this is crazy." she said under her breath. "How many of these things _are_ there?" as the words escaped her lips, there was a quick breeze right beside Presea's ear. She whipped around to see an arrow protruding from a Wyvern. Quickly, four more dragons dropped dead, each with arrows sticking out of there bodies.

"Need some help?" said an unknown voice. Standing in the entrance of the cave was a young girl. She looked to be about Lloyd's age, maybe a little bit older than that. Her brown hair fell down to her shoulders, curving upwards at the ends in a wind-blown look, and blue-gray eyes glimmered as she readied a huge crossbow, pulling down on the trigger to let a bolt fly right through the eyes of a nearby wyvern. Smoothly reloading, she fired off another shot. She wore a dark grey corset that showed her bare, flat midriff and pale shoulders and arm warmers, black with white lace. Her black pants were littered with three white belts that curved sideways, sporting an assortment of knives and crossbow bolts. When she was finished loading the arrows, she pulled the trigger on the crossbow, sending another bolt speeding at the heart of the Wyvern. As soon as the first bolt had left, the girl had shot another bolt with God-speed. She continued this, a methodical dance of aiming, shooting, and reloading, dodging from the flailing claws of dying and wounded wyverns. Too soon, with the help of this new fighter, the group carried on until all the Wyverns were dead except for one: the one holding Colette.

"I don't wanna hurt the girl," the stranger said, keeping the crossbow trained on the beast, not moving. Her voice was deep, for a woman.

"I'll handle this," Lloyd said. He gripped his swords tightly, and jumped into the air. "Psi Tempest!" he roared as he moved in a front flip going higher into the air until he hit the Wyvern, killing it after a few slashes. Lloyd landed on his feet, and caught Colette in his arms as he fell.

"Colette!" Zelos cried, running over to Lloyd. "Are you okay?" Lloyd handed Colette to Zelos as she stirred and her eyes fluttered open.

"Zelos?" she said in a low voice. "Did you rescue me?" Zelos turned to Lloyd, who nodded. A smile formed on Presea's face. She understood what Lloyd had done. "Thank you, Zelos." Colette said, and closed her eyes, slipping into unconsciousness.

Now, the group turned their attention to the stranger. "Who are you?" Lloyd asked. The girl shrugged, and put her crossbow away on one of her belts.

"I'm Krystal," she said. "Who are you guys, and how the hell did your friend get kidnapped by a Wyvern? Those things are _weaklings._"

"Yeah…" Lloyd said, his face turning the color of Zelos's hair. "But there were just so many…

A smile formed on Krystal's face. "You need to work on your fighting skills," she said, still smiling. "C'mon, I'll explain everything, but we need to go somewhere else. We can start a fire or something." Krystal left the cave, closely followed by Presea. "Who are you?" Krystal asked Presea, allowing Presea to stand beside her.

"I'm Presea," she replied. "Did Regal let you in, or did you sneak past him?"

"You mean the blue haired guy?" Krystal asked. Presea nodded. "He didn't seem to care when I walked past him. I told him I was here to help, and he just nodded and let me in." _What's wrong with him? _Presea wondered. They stopped in the clearing that was also the entrance to the Ossa Trail, and Lloyd began making a fire. When he finished and a roaring fire heated the area, everyone sat in a circle around it, Krystal on Presea's left and Regal on her right.

"Okay, Krystal," Lloyd said.

"Call me Krys," Krystal replied.

"Okay…Krys," Lloyd said. "Why did you save us?"

"All right. It's a long story. You guys sure you wanna hear it?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, so a lot of shit has been happening to me lately, and so now its become a habit of mine to climb to the peak of the Ossa Trail at night and look at the stars. It calms me down, makes me forget everything weird, or bad that's happening for the moment. So tonight I was climbing up the trail, and I saw a human shadow reflected off the Wyvern cave because of the sunset, so I came up to check it out. Then I heard you guys saying that there were too many Wyvern to kill, and so I quickly ran back, got my crossbow from where I watch the stars, and helped you."

"Where do you live?" Presea asked. "You must live close to here since you come every night and you don't have a Rheiard."

"You know about Rheiards?" Krys asked, ignoring Presea's other question.

"Yes," Lloyd said. "How come you ask?"

"Well, because I'm the leader of the Renegades, and I thought that only Renegades knew about them."

Everything went dead silent.

"_Leader? _Of the _Renegades?_" Zelos said, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

"What happened to Yuan?" Presea asked.

"Yuan quit a few years ago, supposedly to go on some kind of journey to find something. So, a new Renegade leader and new Seraphim was needed, and they hired this one guy…let's say it didn't work out. When he died about four months ago, they hired me. For what reason, I have no clue. They say that Yuan had specific orders for me to be found and instantly replace him as Seraphim, but that note wasn't found until a few months ago."

"But wasn't the Renegades only objective to destroy Cruxis?" Raine asked.

"Originally, yes. And when Cruxis was destroyed, Yuan decided for them to stick around, to monitor the happenings in the combined world. You know, kind of like guardians of Symphonia."

"Wow," Lloyd said. "You know a lot about everything that happened six years ago."

"It pays to be a wanderer," Krystal said. "You hear a lot of stuff. Most of it's stupid, but sometimes you hear some interesting stuff."

"You're a wanderer?" Lloyd said, surprised at what he was hearing.

"Yes," Krystal said, a look of sadness on her face. "I never knew my parents. Both of them were killed after I was born. I spent my life in the House of Salvation under the guidance of a priest until I turned seventeen. That's when I started to wander. And I found this thing." She held up her hand, revealing an Ex-sphere unlike any Ex-sphere Presea had ever seen. It was like all the others, except something that looked like a flame moved around inside it. "It's called the Fire-sphere. It has the Summon Spirit Efreet sealed inside it." She sighed. "And man, don't think it wasn't easy. He was already bound to some chick so I had to beat him up a little before he let me make a pact with him."

"You're a summoner?" Raine asked, looking up. This also seemed to interest Regal.

"Yes," Krystal replied.

"So you have elven blood in you." Krystal nodded.

"I'm a half-elf." she said. "Er..!" She shifted uncomfortably. "If that's a problem with all of you..."

"Don't worry," Lloyd said. "Professor Sage is a half-elf. So is her brother." Raine shot a look at Lloyd that said millions of things. Lloyd lowered his voice, leaning over to whisper in Krys's ear."Sorry, don't talk about her brother. He's dead, and her other brother…well... he's dead too, but he wasn't the nicest guy in existance," (Read Dragonwings144's Runaway to fully understand what Lloyd is saying.)"

"Oh. Good. All right, now you guys have to tell me how your friend got captured."

"We were shopping," Zelos explained.

Krys gave him a look. "Are you serious?"

"And flying back home," Zelos continued, ignoring her. "We ran into a monster…a Wyvern, to be specific, and I was low on magic, so was Raine, and my sword was cracked, and we were careless and pretty soon the Wyvern was flying away, with Colette with him!"

"Oh, I see. Hey, we're close to Triet, how bout we stay there for the night?"

"I am fine with that idea," Regal said.

"Yeah, me too." Lloyd said. Everyone agreed, so Lloyd extinguished the fire and Presea followed Krystal out of the trail and to Triet. The desert town was empty, since it was after dark. As they entered the town, from the corner of her eyes, Presea saw a shadowed figure moving towards the abandoned house that Colette had fallen into back at the beginning of the World Regeneration journey. Presea watched the figure move into the house, and disappeared. Presea broke into a run, wondering if this was one of Dessara's workers going to the base. She stepped inside, out of breath, but the room was empty. Had that guard even been real? Had it been an illusion of the night? Presea assumed she would never know, until something on the wall caught her attention. It seemed to be a picture, but Presea noticed it was slightly askew. She walked over to it, and lifted it up off the hook. She discovered behind it a switch. She flipped the switch, and the sand started to move, revealing a staircase of stainless steal.

"Presea!" Krys and Regal said simultaneously as they ran into the room.

"Tell everyone to come in here," Presea instructed. Krys turned around and yelled for everyone to come to the house. Once everyone was gathered, Presea told the news, a humongous grin on her face.

"Guys, I found the entrance to the base."

The group walked out of the house, and towards the inn. Presea decided she would wait until they were in the room to tell the story to Krys, if they decided they could trust her and that she would help them. The group paid for the room, and trudged up the stairs. Before Presea even took off her boots, Lloyd had already plopped down onto the bed and placed his arms behind his head. Colette, who was still unconscious, was placed on the other bed, of which Zelos sat on the edge, watching his little angel sleep.

"Okay, what base did you find, Presea?" Krys asked. Presea glanced around, her face asking everyone if they should trust her. Everyone nodded. Presea went on to the explain the story of death, destruction, and horror. When Presea finished the story with them meeting Krys and finding the entrance to the base, Krys was awestruck. "Wow. That's amazing. I've been getting reports about missing villages, and the destruction of Meltokio, but I never expected it to be so…wow. Who do you think they're looking for?"

"We are not sure yet," Regal replied.

"I know this sounds a little selfish, but can I tag along with you guys? I wanna be a part of this…I think I can help with my crossbow."

"I have no objections of her coming," Raine said.

"Nor do I," Regal said.

"I don't," Lloyd agreed.

"Yeah! Let's have Krystal come! She's a cutie!" Zelos squealed.

"It would be wonderful if she came," Presea said, speaking last.

"Awesome! Now I can teach Lloyd how to tell the difference between strong enemies and weak ones." Krys winked at Lloyd. She yawned, and spoke again. "Well, I'm going to bed. G'night." she laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. Pretty soon, everyone was hitting the hay. The only two people left awake were Regal and Presea.

"Presea," Regal said. She looked up at him, at his eyes that showed a look of concern. "Will you come outside for a second?"

"Sure," she replied, rising from the ground. She walked out the door, and down the stairs, following Regal. Presea followed him out the door, and into the town. It was cool, and Presea shivered in her nightgown.

"Presea, something has been distracting me all day. When we fought earlier…did I hurt you? You didn't seem to attack very often. Are you hurt? I can heal you if you are." Presea smiled, hoping Regal didn't see. _So that's what he's been worrying about all day. _

"No, I'm fine. I went easy because I'm tired. Everything has been happening really fast, and it's wearing me out. I'm sorry if I worried you, Regal."

"It is nothing," Regal said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Presea, I think it would be good for the both of us if we do not fight each other anymore. I do not want to relive the horrors of Alicia from all those years ago. I still am regretting that."

"Don't worry about that, Regal." Presea said, walking closer to him. "It's over. She forgave you. Please, forget about that."

"Yes, you are right. I should get over that. Thank you, Presea. Good night." With that, he walked back inside the inn. Presea stayed outside for a moment, wondering why he so suddenly seemed concerned about her safety. Back before, when they had trained, Regal had been merciless on her. Then again, she had also been merciless on him…

Presea decided to drive the thoughts from her head and get some sleep. It was getting late. Presea walked back inside the inn, and laid down on the mat set for her to sleep. She closed her eyes, and within seconds she was asleep.

Outside in the hallway, a man cloaked in shadows tore away from his hiding place. He had almost been seen by the blue haired one. The girl had been looking at the floor, and didn't see him. The blue haired one on the other hand had heard him cough, but he must've assumed it was from his room. He needed to report back to the base. This group was figuring out too much, too quickly. And the arrival of Krystal was unexpected. The capture of the pink haired one could wait. Those orders hadn't even been from the master. _Stupid Nobuhiro…thinks he can boss me around. _The master would like this news, though. The stranger smiled, and left his hiding spot to return to the base with the news.

As morning dawned, Presea opened her eyes to sunlight and the rest of the group. Everyone was up already, and Colette had even woke up. Presea hoped that someone else had already filled her in on the events.

"Presea, you are awake." Regal said with a smile. "Now that everyone is awake, I have some news." Presea sat up, adrenaline rushing through her body. _What could he have to tell us? _"Everyone, we are being spied on."

A/N: This is the longest chapter that I've ever written EVER for a fanfic. And I wrote most of it in one day. Krystal is based off a good friend of mine, and she loves the character, which makes me happy that I'm writing a good story for once. Andddd yeah. That's about it. Please review. I appreciate those things. Till the next chapter.


	6. Attack On Iselia

"We're being _spied on?_" Krys exclaimed. "As in like, people looking in our room and listening to our conversations?"

"That would be correct," Regal said.

"Eww! I hope this guy's not a pervert…"

"Regal," Raine said. "How did you find this information out?" she stared at him, looking for a lot of answers.

"Well," Regal said with no hesitation. Presea wondered if he was going to tell the truth, or come up with a lie about walking outside to find a spy. Presea forced that thought out of her head. Why would he hide that he had to talk to her? There was no reason to deny regular talking… "Last night sleep would not come, and I decided to take a walk, and when I return I saw a shadow hiding in the corner. To confirm my suspicions, I heard a cough that was male. Since Lloyd, Zelos and I are the only ones here that are male and it did not sound like any of those three, I knew we were being spied on." To Presea, it was obvious he was lying. She could tell from the way he would pause between sentences. _I wonder if the others noticed his hesitation._ she wondered.

"What a LAME story!" Krys yelled. "C'mon, buddy it's obvious you're lying. Maybe _you're _the spy, and you're just giving us a clue so that we can fall into a trap? C'mon, Regal. We want the truth."

"That is the truth," Regal said. Presea was shocked. She had never thought of Regal to be the type of person who lied without so much as a care.

"I hate to say this, but I think you're lying too, Regal." Zelos said, his arm around Colette's shoulder.

"Fine," Regal said with a heavy sigh. "Yesterday, Presea and I went to the Iselia Forest to train. I…forgot that she wasn't exactly the most normal girl, and I went merciless on her, expecting her to as well. That is how we had trained before. But, she barely attacked me, and I went merciless. So, I resigned and worried that I had hurt Presea. So, later, when everyone was asleep, we walked outside and I asked for her forgiveness. On the way back, I noticed the figure standing in the corner, thinking it was a fellow traveler. But I could see his eyes. His eyes were cold, dark. I could tell he was not a normal traveler if he even was a traveler. Then he coughed, and gave away his location. He is obviously not the best spy, but a spy nonetheless." Presea could tell this time that Regal was telling the truth. One, because she recognized the story, and two, she could sense honesty in his tone of voice. She smiled. This was the Regal she knew. But one thought was driving her crazy.

_Why had he lied in the first place?_

"See that wasn't so hard, was it Regal?" Krys said with a smile and a small elbow nudge. "I think someone has a little crush on Presea…" Regal clenched his teeth, and did no reply. A slightly angry look was on his face.

"My feelings…towards Presea are not of your business." Regal said. "I believe we should return to Iselia." he said, clearly stating that he wanted to change the subject from his love life. "Who knows when Dessara could attack next? For all we know, they could be attacking now."

"I agree with Regal." Raine said, standing up and dusting off her coat.

"Yeah, lets go." Lloyd said. "We don't want anymore people to be taken away by that damn Nobuhiro."

"I don't think Nobuhiro is behind all of this," Presea said, speaking for the first time in a little bit. "I think he's just a pawn. He's too weak to be the organizer of something like this. I would believe it could maybe be some remnant of the Desians."

"But we destroyed the Desians," Lloyd said.

"Exactly," Presea said. "Either this is a completely new kind of enemy, or one of the Desians we fought didn't die."

"I think it would be a new enemy," Regal said. "I'm sure the Desians are dead." Presea followed Krys out of the room, and out of the inn. It was a busy day in Triet, many people bustled around shopping and doing the things that life demanded them to. The group exited the town and headed for the village of Iselia. After a few minutes of silence, Zelos piped up.

"Okay, since we have a new member of our group, I do believe its time I give Krys a nickname!" He smiled, and everyone sighed heavily.

"Not this again," Raine said with a heavy sigh.

"How about we call Krystal the super sexy lingerie model! I mean, with that kind of body, and that particular shirt, she looks just like a model!" Zelos grinned wildly, as his eyes turned into hearts.

"Uhh, thanks but no…Zelos was it? You can just call me Krys."

"Awww," Zelos said, lowering his head and dragging his feet as he walked. "Can't I just call you sexy Krys?" Krys blushed.

"Uh, no."

"Zelos," Raine said with a sigh. "Leave her alone. If she doesn't want a nickname, don't give her a nickname."

"Fine." he said. The conversation ended, and they had arrived in Iselia. Everything seemed to be fine, no one was missing. The streets were bustling with children playing tag and adults scolding them for running around recklessly and running into people.

"We should return to Lloyd's home," Regal said. "This place is in no danger… for the moment."

* * *

Two days had passed, and still nothing had happened in Iselia. Presea was beginning to wonder if Dessara would even attack the village. The axman, along with Krys, stepped out for a walk around Iselia on the third day. The two had become good friends- they had fought against each other for hours and talked late into the night. Soon Presea had almost mastered the feeling of her new axe. In fact, training was the reason that the two had gone into Iselia. Earlier, Krys had shot a bolt at Presea at rocket speed, and it had hit Presea in the arm. The wound was deep, and Lloyd was all out of apple gels.

Every day, someone was sent to watch the city for anything suspicious. Today, Zelos was on patrol. "Well hello, ladies." he said as Presea and Krys stepped through the gates. "Did you miss me?"

"We came for apple gels, Zelos." Krys said, glaring at him. "Presea's hurt."

"Presea's hurt! I'll heal you, my darling! Heal you with _love._"

"C'mon, Presea." Krys said, dragging Presea into the shop. Presea purchased a few apple gels, and walked out of the store. She rubbed the gel over the wound, and instantly she felt a wave of relief sweep over her body.

That's when she saw it.

It was a shadow, hiding in the corner of Raine and Genis's burned down house, obviously not wanting to be seen.

"Krystal," Presea whispered to the other girl. She stopped, and turned around.

"What is it, Presea?" she said, a look of concern on her face. "Is it your wound?" Presea shook her head and indicated the burnt down house and the stranger lurking inside it.

"It's time. They're here." Krys instantly understood, and noticed the figure. She ran over to Zelos and whispered inaudible words in his ears. He nodded, and ran out of the city and into the forest. Presea readied her axe, and Krys drew two knives from one of her belts, one for each hand. They started off down the path towards the Professor's old house, weapons concealed behind their backs.

_I hope Zelos comes with everyone else soon,_ thought Presea.

"Presea, how nice to see you again." the cold voice jolted Presea away from her memories. It had been Nobuhiro that was standing in the shadows.

"Presea, you know this guy?" Krys said from beside her.

"He was the one who kidnapped me in the first place." Presea explained.

"I didn't think that you would make it out of the base in Triet. But, I guess I underestimated you didn't I?" he smiled, and looked over at Krys who had both blades of her knives pointed at the man. "And who's this? A new friend, huh?"

Nobuhiro drew out a long sword, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. Presea gripped the handle of her axe, prepared to give the fight her all.

"You might want to use your crossbow, Krys," Presea said from the side of her mouth. "This is no weak foe." Krys nodded, and placed the knives back in their sheaves on her white belt. She pulled her crossbow off her belt, and loaded it to the maximum amount of bolts. Nobuhiro began to run. He first backed up, and then ran in a circle around Presea, so fast he was only a black blur in her vision. Her heart pounded as she started to turn, too late.

"I won't hold back this time, Presea." He grabbed onto both of her hands with his left hand, and raised the blade to her neck with his right. The blade brushed across her neck- it was cold enough to make her shiver. Nobuhiro laughed at her reaction. "There are more of us, Presea." he said. "Lots more. And most of them are hiding in this village. Even if you defeat me, there are more." he grinned, and pressed the blade to her neck. Pain. She felt the blood drip down on her dress.

"Leave her alone, bastard!" Krys yelled. She pulled the trigger of the crossbow, sending a bolt speeding at Nobuhiro's side. Before he even saw the bolt be released from the crossbow, Nobuhiro doubled over in pain, clutching his side in pain.

"...d-damn..." he muttered as Presea scrambled away, readying her axe as she glared at the Dessara agent.

"Presea, are you okay?" Krys called. Presea nodded, and placed her hand on the back of her neck. It had stopped bleeding. Krys came to her side, and handed her an apple gel. She placed it over the cut, and the pain disappeared instantly. Nearby, Nobuhiro had stood up and was coming at them at full throttle. Presea, seeing him coming this time, hopped over to a nearby building so that her back could be facing a wall.

Krys stayed put, her face blank as she waited, letting the seconds tick by. When the Dessara man was almost on top of her, she whipped out her crossbow, fast as thought, squeezing hard on the trigger and aiming straight for his chest. But Nobuhiro wasn't going to fall for that. As the bolt flew from the crossbow he moved to the left, and dodged the attack. He stopped in his tracks and brushed a strand of blue-purple hair out of his eyes. He raised the sword in the air, blocking the bolt that had been shot at him. Nobuhiro smiled, and ran towards Krys, a hunter out to catch prey. Krys reacted quickly and drew a knife from her belt as he swung the sword. She raised the knife up just in time, and both blades had impact. _Cling! _Krys and Nobuhiro were flung slightly backwards.

Presea ran towards Nobuhiro, preparing to strike. She raised the axe in the air, and swung down in a curved shape, almost like a crescent moon. The cut broke the armor surrounding his chest, and Presea attacked again, actually implicating damage now. Blood began to fall from the wound. Krys followed up with the attack by shooting three bolts at the man. One hit in the center of his chest, and the others in his shoulders.

"Gack…" Nobuhiro said, gagging. Presea swung her axe again the moon shape, completely shattering the armor. Presea turned her head and smiled at Krys. They were winning. Nobuhiro pulled the bolts out of his chest, and he fell to the ground, doubled over in pain. Nobuhiro was going to die soon. Very soon.

Krys aimed her crossbow at Nobuhiro's chest. This would be the last shot.

"I don't like wasting this," Krys said. "But I want this guy to die." she pulled a bolt off of her belt. Something looked different about it, but Presea couldn't place what it was. Krys loaded the bolt onto the crossbow, and perfected her aim. If her accuracy was dead on, the bolt would go straight through Nobuhiro's heart. He was going to die anyways, so why not make it a quick death?

Krys placed her finger on the trigger and pulled. The bolt flew off the crossbow, straight into Nobuhiro's chest.

"Ahhh," he said, falling even lower to the ground. "So this is how it will end. Too bad that the Master wouldn't listen to me." He paused for a moment, as the specialty of the bolt sunk in. "What…what the hell? What is this?" he screamed in terror, and fell onto the ground. A puddle of crimson began to form under his body and he started to convulse. It only lasted for a few seconds, though, because then he lay still. Dead.

"What was that?" Presea asked, turning to Krys.

Krys paused for a moment, looking down at her enemy sprawled on the floor, completely undignified. Surprising Presea, she bent down and straightened him up, crossing his arms over his chest and placing two fingers over his eyelids, closing them in a sign of respect. "That, Presea, was a poison bolt. The tip is equipped with the poison, which just happens to be the fastest reacting poison in the world. Nobuhiro would've been dead in just about the same time as this, even if he wasn't injured."

"That's amazing," Presea said. She smiled again at Krys, and heard a voice from behind her.

"Presea! Krys! What's happening?" It was Lloyd. Following him was Zelos, Regal, Raine, and Colette.

"Presea, are you all right?" Regal said, standing beside the small girl who was only now about two feet shorter than him.

"Yes, I'm fine." Presea replied. "Be alert, everyone. Nobuhiro said that others were around. We need to be cautious. They could be anywhere around here." Everyone nodded. At that moment, shadows formed from behind the group.

Presea whipped around to find about thirty men in armor similar to Nobuhiro's standing behind them, all of them with drawn weapons. Presea was ready to fight them. She doubted they were as strong as Nobuhiro was. From beside her, Lloyd and Zelos drew their swords, Regal made sure his greaves were attached correctly, Colette grabbed onto her rings, and Raine readied her staff for healing.

"Go!" Presea said, raising the axe above her head and swing down quickly, killing a guard. She swung the axe again, and knocked another off his feet. Around her, the guards were falling to the ground quickly. Blood splattered onto Presea's dress, and she frowned. Another guard fell by the power of her axe, and she swung around backwards, killing off another. She looked around. Only a few of them were left. Presea watched with a small grin as Krys pulled the trigger of her crossbow and killed the remaining guards.

They had won the battle.

"Healing circle!" the Professor yelled, and a blue circle appeared over Presea's head. Everyone ran quickly into the circle, and watched their wounds disappear. As the circle faded, the talking began.

"I think this time now would be a perfect chance to invade the Dessara HQ," Regal suggested. "We could steal the clothes of these guards and pretend that some of you are villagers." Presea agreed with Regal's plan. Dessara was probably expecting some kind of prisoners, and this would be a good opportunity for them to learn some more secrets of the organization.

"Just like we did back on the Journey of Regeneration…" Lloyd said. It was obvious that he had figured out that Sheena clearly wasn't coming back. He was lost in his memories, a place happier than Iselia for the moment.

"I think we should do that," Raine said. She picked up a pair of black clothes from the ground. "Let's go back to Lloyd's house and rest for the night, thought."

"Yeah," Lloyd said. He started to walk towards the gate to the forest, and was instantly followed by the rest of the group.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Krys said. "I need to buy some new bolts for my crossbow and talk to the villagers about burying these guys." Krystal turned away from the ground, her brown hair swaying with the new wind that had picked up after the fight. The smell of blood now scented the city.

"But you already have some bolts…." Lloyd said.

"Krys?" Presea called, stopping in her tracks. Krys ignored Presea, stepping into the rebuilt item shop.

"Come on, Presea." Raine called. "It's getting cold. We shouldn't worry about her, she'll be fine on her own. She wields that crossbow excellently."  
"I guess you're right," Presea said, and followed Raine out the gates of Iselia.

* * *

Krys stepped into the weapon shop, and purchased the new bolts for the crossbow quickly. She stared around the shop, realized the coast was clear, and stepped back outside. Now she just had to get to Lloyd's house, and she would be fine. She started down the path to the gates, when a pair of cold hands clamped over her mouth, making her scream inaudible. The hands let go, and Krystal whipped around to see a face she never wanted to see again.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You said you would leave me alone!"

"Yeah, well that changed," the stranger said. The upper half of his head was covered by a hood, but Krys was happy. This way she couldn't see his eyes. Those killing eyes… "I need you to come to the Sylvarant Base," he said. His voice was cold. Every time he spoke, it sent a chill down Krys's spine.

"What about?" Krys said. "I'm not coming if you don't tell me."

"Oh, you'll come." the stranger said, chuckling. Krys shivered. It wasn't just the wind that was causing her to shiver. "Otherwise you'll never figure out the truth about your parents."

"The truth?" Krys said, a look of fear and shock on her face. "What truth?" The stranger chuckled.

"Come to the base," he said, and disappeared into the shadows of the Iselia forest; into the night.

* * *

Presea wondered what was taking Krys so long. It had been almost an hour since she had departed. Presea was starting to worry. She was about to get up and go look for her, when the door opened and Krys stepped into the house, out of breath and panting. Her brown hair was clamped down onto her forehead, and she looked extremely scared.

"Krystal, what is the matter?" Regal asked. "Did something go wrong?" A look of concern was showing on Regal's face, which made Presea suddenly angry. Did Regal care about Krys more about her? Presea stopped herself from thinking about that. Why was she even thinking about that? And why did she even _care_ that Regal cared more about another girl? She her sister's _murderer_. She shouldn't have even forgiven him, let alone let him take over her private thoughts.

"Everyone," Krys said with a sigh. "Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving. I don't know for how long, or if I'm even coming back, but I'm going."

"Why?" Presea asked. It seemed a shame that someone who had just joined the group had to leave already.

"I can't…tell you. Not yet, at least." she lowered her head. "Professor Sage, can I stay at your place tonight?" she asked. Raine nodded, and got up. "Come on, Presea. Goodnight everyone." Presea, Raine and Krys left the house and set off towards Iselia for the night, in the new house that the Sages had built after the journey.

Presea awoke to sunlight streaming through the closed curtains of the Sage house. She rose from the bed and stretched, then looked around the house. The Professor had gone out to get something, she had told Presea that last night. But Krys was already gone. Presea sighed.

She had forgotten to say goodbye.

A/N: Another long chapter...a little shorter than the last, but still long for me. Thats about it for me...thanks to Dragonwings144 and phantom4angel for reviewing!


	7. Krystal's Journey Part One

As the first rays of the morning sunlight began to streak through the curtains of the Sage house, Krystal opened her eyes. It was a few minutes after dawn. She would have to get out of this place quickly. The stranger was waiting for her back at the base. Krys rose from the comfy bed and stretched. Krys dressed in her regular outfit: black corset, black pants, three white belts, and black arm warmers. She placed her knives, bolts, and crossbow on the belts and stared to walk out the door. In the bed next to hers, Presea slept silently, her breathing calm and carefree. She stepped out of the room, and heard the gentle breathing of the Professor from all the way down the hall.

Krys tip-toed through the halls, and out the door. She closed the door as quietly as she could, and began to walk through the village. Since it was dawn, only a few people were awake and walking around the streets. Krys slipped out of the city silently, and into the clearing around the city. She walked a little longer, and then raised her hand to a packet on her shoulder. She touched the packet with her right hand, and waved it down quickly. A purple Rheiard appeared before her. Krys mounted the Rheiard, and placed a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. The Rheiard began to rise, higher into the air by the second.

She began to fly, and soon the green grass faded into the infinite abyss of yellow sand, and the desert city of Triet appeared. Krys veered the Rheiard to the right, and soon the Sylvarant Base appeared. Krys landed her Rheiard, and shrunk it back to its original size. She placed it back in the wing pack, and started the short walk to the base.

When she arrived at the main doors, Krys entered the password, and the doors opened, blasting her with the freshness of cold air. She stepped inside, and walked through the gray hallways to the door of her office.

"Welcome back, Krystal," one of the Renegade's who guarded Krystal's door said. "It is good to see you again."

"You too," Krystal said, typing in the password to her office. The door opened, and Krystal stepped inside. She sat down at her desk, and waited behind the desk for the Stranger to come, and give her the information she wanted, and whatever information he had about her family. She waited for what seemed like hours, but knew were only minutes. Finally, from outside, the door was opened and a Renegade stepped in. His helmet covered his head, and the uniform his body. Krys had no clue if he was truly the stranger. She would only know when he spoke.

"How did you get in here?" Krys asked. "I am the only one here who knows the password!"

"The master knows the password," the Renegade said. It was not the Stranger. His voice was different. Younger, calmer, nicer. "There isn't much he doesn't know,"

"Why didn't he come today?" Krys yelled, angry that this fag had told her to come all the way here, and then decide to not even show up for the meeting that _he _called!

"My master is very busy," the Renegade replied, shuffling his feet around in fear. "He regrets calling the meeting and not being able to attend. But he gave me all the information he wanted you to know."

"Oh really?" Krys said, raising an eyebrow. "And what stuff do I get to know?"

"Well," the Renegade said, starting to pace around the room. "He wanted me to tell you that you need to leave the Chosen's group behind. He says that it's not for you to interfere with them. The Chosen's group is his business, and leave it at that."

"Ok, that's fine and dandy and all, but what does he have to say about my family?"

The Renegade thought for a few moments. "Family…oh yes. He didn't have much to say about your family." Anger welled up through Krys' body. That bastard. "All he had to say was that someone in the Chosen's group is close to you in unknown ways. That's all. I'm sorry if you wanted more, but I don't know anything besides what he told me to pass on to you."

Krys sighed heavily. "It's fine, I just thought since he lured me here with something like that…I never really knew my family….he would give me more information."

"I'm sorry," the Renegade said. "But I can do nothing." At that moment, the Renegade started to cough frantically. He continued to cough, until the coughing became choking, and Krys could tell this guy was in pain. "This…must be…the Master's work…" the Renegade said. Cuts started appearing all over his body, and blood started to fall from the wounds. There were thousands of them, and more appearing every second. The man screamed, a loud ear piercing scream that wouldn't be letting up for awhile.  
"What the hell….?" Krys breathed. This seemed unreal. Why was this…Master, or the Stranger, killing this man? Was it because he found out this kind of information? Or was it just for the hell of it? The man started to squirm, and after a few minutes of spreading blood around the whole room, the man stopped squirming and screaming and lay still on the floor of the office.

The room became eerily silent, and Krys knew this had to be the worker of the Stranger, she was 100 percent sure now. She remembered when she had first met him, back when she had only been a child of about eleven years of age. The unpleasant memories flooded her head, and Krys suddenly wished she would have just avoided this man like she had in the past. It was probably better anyway that she didn't know about her family…even though this information was barely called information.

_She was just a young girl living in the House of Salvation close to the desert city of Triet. She was constantly allowed to pass the time there, since it was so nearby. One day, the girl Krystal was standing close to the entrance of the desert city with a few other people who weren't friends, just people to pass the time with when she was bored. Krys had never really had what she would call a "true friend." _

_She was startled when one of her false friend's mother's came._

_"Go somewhere else!" the plump woman hissed. "We have guests coming into the city! Leave, the lot of you!" The children scattered away, but Krystal stayed where she was standing._

_"You're not in charge of me," she spat. "I want to see the newcomers." Since Krystal was not her child, the woman just walked away with a sigh and a crossing of arms. A few minutes later, the strangers arrived._

_He had blue hair that went down to about his shoulders. His eyes were blue, and kind. He looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He looked around the town, the look in his eyes showed he already knew everything about it. He looked down, and noticed Krystal staring at him with wide eyes._

_"Hello," the new stranger said. "What's your name?" _

_"Krys….Krystal." Krystal replied, starting to shake uncontrollably. There was something about this man that she couldn't trust. Something about his voice that was deceiving and evil. _

_"Don't worry," the stranger said. "I won't bite." He smiled, but Krystal continued to stare and fear the man. _

_"Who are you?" she croaked at the strange man._

_"I am Matharisis." the man replied. "Do you fight? I'm asking this because your build makes me think you would be an excellent archer, or even a bowman." He smiled, but the smile faded quickly as Krystal shook her head. "Then come with me, Krystal." Matharisis said. "We'll be getting you a crossbow." Krys followed Matharisis through the city of Triet, and to a weapon shop she had been forbidden to enter. _

_"How can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked. _

_"We'd like a crossbow." Matharisis said. "And six knives." The man behind the counter nodded, and looked around his tent for the requested items. _

_A few weeks later _

_"I have one more thing to show you, Krystal," Matharisis said, panting. They had just finished training, after three vigorous weeks. It had all come down to this day, the final day of the training. "And then you will know completely how to use a crossbow the proper way. Krys nodded to show her understanding. She was too exhausted to speak. Matharisis was a tough trainer. _

_Matharisis walked closer to Krystal, and handed her a bottle. _

_"What's this?" Krys asked, in between deep breaths. _

_"This is poison," Matharisis began to explain. Pour it on the tip of the bolts, and watch what happens." the man paused and brushed a strand of blue hair from his eyes. "That is all I have left to teach you," he said. "You can now use your crossbow." Krys beamed in delight. She could finally fight! _

_Later that day, Krys walked out of the Triet Inn, where she had been playing with some of her friends. She heard voices from the stable, and snuck into the shadows to listen. Standing in the stable was Matharisis, with another man. They were about the same height, but the new man had red hair. _

_"…watch on her," That was the man with red hair who said that. _

_"I can do that," Matharisis replied. _

_"You do know that this might end up ending her life, right?" the red haired man said. "You might even have to do the killing." _

_"I can't do that!" Matharisis cried. "This one is different. I won't do that. Not to her."_

_"Do as you wish," the red haired man whispered. "Just remember her secret…"_

_"Yes, I know." Matharisis replied. "It's something that someone can't forget." A look of disbelief crossed Krystal's face. Where they talking about her? She shook off the thought. They couldn't be. There was absolutely nothing special about her after all. And she didn't have a secret…did she? _

_The red haired man opened his mouth to speak again, but then his gaze moved, and met with that of Krystal's. "We are being watched." The red haired man's gaze moved quickly from Matharisis's over to Krystal's. He stared deep in her eyes. _

_"Hello there," he said, coming to where she was hiding in the stables and grabbing her by the arm roughly. He pulled her out, and faced Matharisis. "Kill her," he said. "I don't care if you know her or any of that kind of crap now. Kill her. She knows too much."_

_"Understood," Matharisis said. He drew a sword from his belt, and dropped his cloak to the ground. He drew a sword with a large, golden blade. "I'm sorry, Krystal." he said, speaking the truth. "But I cannot lose this job. It's vital to events yet to happen." _

_"NO!" Krys yelled, feeling betrayed by the man she had trusted like a father. "I trusted you! I trusted you! Leave me alone!" She started to run away, but Matharisis did nothing to stop her._

_"Then I shall leave you alone," he said. "But don't go leaking the information out, Krystal. Or else I'll track you down, kill you, and then you'll never know the truth of your parents." She continued to run, out of Triet, into the desert, and into the unknown. _

That was how Krys had become a wanderer, and later in life became the new leader of the powerful Renegades. That was one of her most painful memories. She hated Matharisis for what he was going to do. And now…she knew that he was after her again. She knew she couldn't go back with Presea and the others. She couldn't get them involved with this. This was her problem, her enemy. She would face Matharisis on her own, even if it meant killing him in the process.

A/N: Took me awhile to update, not to write. First my beta reader had some issues at home, so she took awhile, and then I was just being lazy. Hehe Anywho, thanks to Dragonwings144, phantom4angel, Uchiha James, Scientific Angel, and SuperUltraMonkey for reviewing! Cheers!


	8. Discovery At The Dessara Base

A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Unless you absolutely love this story (which I don't think anyone really does) then you probably didn't miss me when I put Kidnap on a short hiatus. Hehe my beta-reader was the only person who knew this though..so sorry for not telling you guys but again, I doubt that anybody like couldn't sleep at night 'cause I wasn't updating this. Anyways, lets get this thing going. When we left off with Presea, they were about to go to the base of...oh man I forgot everything for this story...hehe. Anyways, on with the chapter!

"All right, up and at 'um!" Lloyd was yelling as Presea and Raine entered Dirk's house. Zelos burst up from a tangle of covers, screaming.

"Nooooooooo! Professor Raine don't die on me! We haven't even gone on our first date!" He then noticed that Raine and Presea had entered, and started blushing crazily.

"Good morning to you too, Zelos," Raine said.

"Good morning, everyone," Regal said, coming down the stairs. "Oh, hello Raine. Good morning to you too, Presea." Regal smiled. Presea couldn't help but blush as Regal smiled at her. Colette then entered the house, exhausted from her walk. She had woken up from being unconscious the day before, and had been strangely in love with Zelos ever since.

"Ok, everyone," Lloyd said, munching on a piece of bacon. "I think it's time we start on our plan to infiltrate the Dessara base. Now, who's going to dress up and who's going to be the prisoners?"

"I will be a prisoner," Regal volunteered instantly.

"I'll be a prisoner too," Presea said, after hearing that Regal was going to. There were probably no uniforms that would fit her anyways.

"And me!" Colette squealed. She then turned to Zelos. "You should be a prisoner too, Zelos!" she said happily. "It'll be fun!"

"Absolutely not," Zelos said, crossing his arms. "Lloyd already told me I could be a guard." Colette then noticed he was dressed in all black, and his red hair stood out sexily. Colette glared at him.

"You're no fun!"

"How about we be serious now?" Raine said, who was also dressed in all black. "There will be no time for jokes in the base, you know."

"I know," Colette said. "I just want Zelos on my team!"

"All right, let's go!" Lloyd said, appearing in the room dressed in black as well. The group set out the door, and hopped on their Rheiards. They flew through the skies, and after riding for about five minutes, the desert city of Triet appeared below them. Presea landed her Rheiard and placed it in the wing pack. Everyone landed beside her, and the plan began.

XXXXXXX

"'Kay, so I just have to press the button, right?" Lloyd said, lifting the painting off of hooks attached to the wall and placing it on the ground.

"Right," Presea said as the button became visible.

"Okay then," Lloyd said, and he pressed the button. Instantly, the sand started to shift and the familiar staircase appeared before them. "Let's go!" Lloyd was the first in line, and Presea, Regal, and Colette lined up side to side behind him. Bringing up the rear of the line was Raine and Zelos. Raine was serious and acting as though she was a real guard for Dessara, while Zelos was admiring how great Raine looked in her new outfit.

"You're looking splendid in that black tank top, Raine," Zelos said, his eyes turning into humongous pink hearts. Raine instantly whipped out her staff and whacked Zelos upside the head.

"Stay focused, Zelos." Raine said as they began the descent down the stairs. The stairway became darker and darker as they descended deeper, and a smell of murkiness filled Presea's nose as the staircase began to spiral.

"We must be under the lake now," Presea said. "We should be getting there soon."

"I am surprised this area wasn't guarded at all," commented Regal.

"Me too," Lloyd said. "I was hoping I could use my swords a bit before the big fight."

"Hopefully there will be no big fight," Raine said as they continued going deeper underground. "For now, we're only here to look around, and see what the big plan of this place is. And maybe, just possibly free some prisoners." Soon, the darkening tunnel lit up. "We must be close to the entrance," Raine said. "It's amazing how they can fit all of this underground!" The three prisoners bowed their heads, acting as though they were in fact, prisoners. Voices began to be heard, and footsteps. Footsteps approaching rapidly.

"Who goes there?" came the voice of a man, turning around the corner with a lit torch in his hand. He wore a black cloak like the ones that Lloyd Zelos and Raine were wearing, and a small knife inside a scabbard attached to his belt.

"We've come with prisoners from Iselia," Lloyd said, trying his best to sound mature.

"It took you awhile," the guard said. "A ton longer than every other group. And just where is Nobuhiro?"

"He was killed in battle," Lloyd replied. "By an archer with poisoned arrows."

"And you five are the only ones that survived?" the guard asked skeptically. Lloyd nodded. "And you could only find three prisoners out of the entire city of Iselia? Nobody was prepared for that question.

"The others ran out of the city, or died on the way here to Triet," piped up Zelos. "You know how those Iselia people are, poor as could be. Barely have enough money to live there, let alone have enough food to survive a journey through the desert."

"Yeah, that is true." the guard said with a heavy sigh. "The loss of Nobuhiro is a large one. The master won't be very pleased. Well, I suppose you can go on in. Take them straight to the prison." Lloyd nodded, and they followed the guard to a set of large wooden doors. He used a silver key to let them through, and Presea, Lloyd, Regal, Zelos, Raine, and Colette stepped inside the door and into the base of Dessara.

XXXXXXXXXX

"We made it," Lloyd said with a sigh as the doors closed behind him.

"Yes," Regal said. "We made it inside. Now what do we do?"

"We explore," Presea said. "We might not get the chance to wander around here freely again, so make it count this time." Presea remember this particular hallway. She remembered this was the hallway that had lead her to the room directly under the lake. "Don't go to the left, guys," Presea said. "It leads to a room under the oasis of Triet." Everyone nodded, and headed to the right. They traveled through a silver hallway, the walls filled with multicolored cords and wires. An open door seemed inviting to Zelos, and he dragged the group into it. They arrived in a large room, with plants scattered around the office and a steaming cup of coffee on the desk. Someone had been in here recently.

"It's not safe to be in here," Raine said. Presea agreed. They could easily be killed if they were caught in here. "Let's go." Zelos groaned. He wanted to explore more. Presea turned around and accidentally knocked into a plant, moving in a few inches. As the plant moved, Presea quickly flailed her arms out, catching it with both hands before it fell over completely. What she didn't notice was that the small knife she had been fingering in her pocket had fallen out. Presea then followed Lloyd out of the room, and back into the hallway.

"Maybe we should go to the jail cells," Presea suggested. "That way we could rescue the prisoners."

"Good idea, Presea!" Lloyd said. He turned around and smiled at Presea. Lloyd lead the group through some hallways, and then through some more. After what fell like an eternity, Raine finally spoke up.

"Lloyd," she said. "I think we're lost." Lloyd's face turned red, and he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.

"I think you're right, Professor," he said. "So what do we do if we're lost here? Ask directions?" Presea laughed.

"What are you doing standing around here?" said a harsh voice, ending Presea's laughter. A man, cloaked in black like everyone else, with long blue hair and a scar the shape of an X in the center of his face turned to the hallway that everyone was walking through.

"I was leading these prisoners to the jail cells," Lloyd explained.

"Are you now, Seraxas?" the man said skeptically.

"Serax--?" began Lloyd, but he was quickly nudged in the gut by Regal.

"You are Seraxas, are you not?" the man said, raising an eyebrow. Presea then noticed a humongous sword attached to his belt. _Lloyd better not piss this guy off, or he might not live, _Presea thought.

"Of...course I am!" Lloyd said.

"Then how are you leading these people to the prisons when the prisons aren't even on this side of the base? I thought you knew this place better than that, Seraxas."

"Err...sorry," Lloyd said sheepishly.

"Here, I will take you there since you seem to have forgotten everything." The large man led the group through endless hallways, until finally they arrived in the cold, dark dungeon area of the Dessara Base. "Here you are, Seraxas." the man said. "Don't let it happen again." he added fiercely.

"Umm...yes, sir." Lloyd replied, and the huge man disappeared into the base.

"I've never seen anyone act so calm around Lord Xenra." said a voice from behind Lloyd. A guard came into vision. "How do you do it?"

"Uhhh..." Lloyd stammered. "I'm used to it, I suppose."

"Oh, cool," the guard replied. "You bring these guys here to be locked up?" the guard asked. Lloyd nodded.

"Yup." The guard handed over a set of silver and gold keys. Lloyd pocketed the set of keys and whipped out his sword. Quickly, he brushed the sword over the mans chest and placed his sword back in its scabbard. He then tripped the man and placed the drug Raine had given to him into the man's mouth. "Sleep well," Lloyd said as the guard's eyes closed and began to fall into unconsciousness.

Then the business began. One by one, he opened the cell doors, freeing all the prisoners as he had back in the Desian Ranches so many years ago.

"Thank you so much," the families said, smiling from ear to ear at escaping. Some faces were familiar faces of people who had once lived in Ozette and moved to Altamira, and people from Meltokio. There was one more cell left, and Presea grabbed the keys from Lloyd and set off to open the final cell and free the last prisoners. The last cell appeared to be empty when Presea first stepped closer to it. She then pulled on the bars...it was locked. Presea used the master key and opened the door.

It swung open with a loud creek, but still there was no sound from inside. Presea stepped inside, curious of why this cell had been locked if there was nobody in there.

Then she saw it.

Lying on the ground of the cell was a body. A very beat up body. This body appeared to belong to a female, wearing a very beaten up purple kimono. The kimono appeared different though. It was outstandingly revealing in the upper area of the girls chest. She wore black pants, and a now dirty pink ribbon was tied around her waist.

"Goddess," breathed Presea. "It can't be...it just cant be...Sheena?"

A/N: Phew! That chapter was very easy and quick to write. I missed writing this story...expect faster updates from now on, no more hiatus. And to my beta reader, I didn't send this to you this time because I'm anxious to upload it...besides I like the constructive critism reviews. Anyways, thanks to Dragonwings144, SuperUltraMonkey, phantom4angel and Uchiha James for reviewing! Cheers!


	9. Krystal's Journey Part Two

A/N: Another chapter, woohoo! And to top it off, a chapter about Krys! People seem to like her...oh wait maybe that's just Dragonwings being all hyper and raving on and on about her...nobody else really commented about her. Anyways, on with the chapter! And this chapter was difficult to write, so it might not be my best writing.

* * *

Yay the lines are back!

Unsure of what to do next, Krys restocked her bag with supplies from the base's Refresher and stepped back into the desert, becoming a wanderer once more.

_What do I do now? _she thought as she walked north through the desert, towards Triet. _I should probably go back and help Presea and the others...no... I can't do that, I've abandoned them. I helped them out when they needed it, and they paid me back with a night in the inn. I can't go back now..._

A war raged in Krys's mind as she wandered through the desert, passing Triet. She could swear, as she passed by the town, that she could hear a voice underneath her...a voice of Presea, and then the loud voice of Raine saying "MARVELOUS!" Krys smiled and continued on, wishing for the Goddess to protect them on their journey. Unfortunately, the Goddess's luck wouldn't be with her...

XXXXXXXXX

Night had fallen in the desert. Krys took a swig of water from one of her canteens, finishing it off. Oh how she wished she would have gotten more water from the Triet Oasis while she went by. Krys tossed the canteen aside and sighed. She had never noticed that the desert was this large...

Krys continued on through the night with no problems. Well, except for the fact that the desert seemed never ending. As the sun began to rise on the horizon, Krys, who had not stopped yet, saw something unbelievable before her. A few feet ahead of her was a large body of water. The water looked delicious...and it was then that Krys realized how parched she was, and how dry her mouth was. She took off in a run towards the oasis, not caring that it was a mirage of the desert heat. She was so thirsty and delusional that she could drink the fake water and not be thirsty. In her mind, at least.

Krys arrived at the oasis, set her things down, and took mouthful after mouthful of water, never becoming refreshed. Krys continued to drink the water until she finally became sleepy. Keeping a hand on her crossbow hilt, Krys slowly wandered into a deep sleep...

Krystal's eyes flooded open, instantly she felt like death. It felt like a humongous fire was burning inside her body. Pain was everywhere, and was showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. What the hell had happened? Krys lifted her hand up to touch her face, and as her arm entered her line of peripheral vision, she knew instantly what had happened. She had slept, and during her sleep she had been laying in direct vision of the sun, getting a horrible sunburn.

"Dammit," she muttered to herself. "How could I let that happen to myself? All that training to prepare to be leader of the Renegades...dammit." Krys picked herself up off the ground. It didn't look like she would be recovering from this anytime soon. She picked up her bags and set off to her unknown destination once again, wishing that the desert would end soon.

Her prayers were answered, in a way. About ten minutes after she had sent her prayers to the Goddess, small patches of brown grass began to appear in front of her.

As the sun began to set, there was a rustling beside Krys. This was something different. Just in case, Krys placed her right hand on the hilt of her crossbow. Krys whipped around, feeling some kind of movement behind her. Quickly, she drew her crossbow and loaded it with a poison bolt. From underneath the sand, a man appeared. He was fat with a shaggy beard, and a large knife in his hand, but he was quick. One minute, Krys saw him appear from the sand, and the next he was right beside her, pressing the knife to her neck.

Krys elbowed him in the stomach, pushing the knife away. She spun around, pointed her crossbow at the attacker, let the bolt fly. The bolt pierced through the man's body in half a second, and he was dead instantly. This was a little trick Krys had been taught year's ago. Soon, the poison would attack the man's body as well; he didn't stand a chance. Krys bent down and picked up the bolt from the ground. The poison was a one-shot deal, so now she would have to coat the bolt with more poison later when she had the chance. She wiped the blood off the bolt, placed it back on her belt, and started walking again. But soon she began to hear more footsteps behind her. Krys broke into a run, fearing more ugly bearded men coming to attack her.

"You cannot run, little girl!" said a deep voice from not too far behind her. Krys started to run faster. As she ran, she noticed that the desert had finally ended, and that she was now running through a small meadow with a few scattered trees. Silently, Krys ducked behind a tree to see the face of evil. Running behind her was not one, but _five_ men, all wearing the same thing as the first man: black clothes that showed off their fat a little more than Krys wanted to see.

"I see you behind that tree!" the man who had spoken earlier called, and hurled some kind of throwing knife at the tree, cutting it barely inches above her head. Krys quickly pulled out her crossbow, and loaded it with a bolt. Damn, what did these men want with her? Before she could shot though, the man came up from behind and grabbed the crossbow out of her hands, while another tied her hands behind her back. The third man bashed her on the head with the hilt of his sword, while the other two laughed like pigs. Everything began to spin, and Krys thought about what was happening to her before she fell into sleep once again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Krys awoke, the first thing she noticed was that her sunburn had gone down significantly. How long had she been knocked out? She guessed a few hours, since she could see the last rays of sunlight peaking through the cave's entrance. So she was in a cave...where were her attackers? She looked around the cave and saw an assortment of crap on the ground. From half eaten food items to broken swords and jars of who knows what, it was all here. Krys stuck out her tongue in disgust. Who were these people? And why were they so..._slobbish? _

"So you're awake, my dear." said the voice from earlier. "Good to see that you're okay now. Now the fun can begin." The five men from earlier appeared in her sight, all with smug smiles on their faces. One pulled out a knife, while others pulled out a and one even started to remove his clothes. One man came close enough to whip her on her face, leaving a bleeding cut. He laughed, and another man came and left a small cut on her neck. Krys whimpered.

"You like it?" the man, who appeared to be the leader, said as he was removing his clothing. "Well the best part is yet to come..."

"_What the hell are you bastards doing to her?" _came an unknown voice from the cave entrance. Krys turned around to see a shadow standing in the entrance of the cave. Behind his back, you mean 'strapped to his back' was a sword with a humongous blade. Krys faintly remembered a story told to her years ago about a savior who, with a large sword, saved all the girls of the kingdom from danger, hoping for payment to fit his perverted mind. Krys wondered if this man was like that.

Swiftly, the shadow leapt off the ground and appeared in the cave like a shadow. He quickly stabbed every man in the heart with perfect, swift accuracy. He wiped the blood from his blade on one of the man's cloaks, and as far as Krys could see, his sword disappeared. He pulled out a knife and cut the rope bindings on Krystal's arms and legs, and pulled the gag from her mouth. "You okay?" he whispered, pulling out cloth to place over her wounds from his black cloak. The new arrival was tall, with a black cape like cloak and all white underneath, and spotless white shoes and gloves. He had a nice posture, and as he bandaged her wounds, Krys looked up to her rescuers face to see that it was covered by a black mask, and that he had shoulder length brown hair.

"Yeah..." Krys stuttered minutes later. Why did this man wear a mask? "Who are you?" she asked. Her rescuer chuckled.

"I am Kirdan," he said. "And you would be Krys, leader of the Renengades, wouldn't you?"

"Yes...how did you know?"

"I am a Renegade." he replied, smiling behind the mask.

"Really?" Krys questioned. "I think I would remember you with that mask. Why the mask, anyways? Trying to hide your identity?"

"I'll tell you at another time, maybe. You don't need to know everything about me immediatly." _Kirdan..._Krys thought. _Where have I heard that name before? _

"You said your name was Kirdan, correct?" Krys asked. Kirdan nodded. "Kind of a funny name, isn't it?" Kirdan sunk down to the floor, but after a minute he regained his cool.

"I was named after my father, Kirby." Kirdan said. "He was a warrior many years ago, but died in battle. He also gave me _this._" From inside his cloak, Kirdan pulled out a black sword hilt, showing it off to Krystal.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It is called the Omni," Kirdan began to explain. "It can transform into any kind of weapon possible. The limit is your imagination. Here, try it. Just think of a weapon, any kind of weapon." He passed the sword hilt over to Krys, who instantly thought of a double bladed sword, the weapon that her father had used. Before the thought could leave her mind, the sword hilt had already transformed into the weapon.

"Amazing!" Krys gasped. She handed the weapon back to Kirdan, as she passed it to him, it transformed back into a sword hilt.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool I guess. Hey, by the way, has anyone ever told you you have quite the body?" Krys stared at her new friend with huge eyes.

"You...did not...just say that." she said slowly, shaking her head in a mixture of disgust and shock. _Not another pervert..._ "You know...I don't think Kirdan suits you. Dan does, though. So, I'll call you Danpervert from now on. Or maybe just Pervert for short..."

Kirdan stared at her. "Anyways," Krys said. "Why were you around here to rescue me?" Kirdan started to make a fire as he explained.

"I was on a mission for Dessara, you see..."

"You work for Dessara?" Krys said. "I thought you were a Renegade!"

"I'm only working for Dessara to shut them down." Dan explained. "And I was on a mission for them and on my way back I heard you scream, so I came to help. And you know, I could use some extra help destroying Dessara, if you would like to help me that is. Having a girl as busty as you would be loads of help."

"I suppose I could help you," Krys said, ignoring his perverted comment. "You seem nice enough. And besides, I have some friends who are trying to destroy it as well. They're in the base right now."

"Great," Dan said. "Now since we're going undercover, you have to act exactly like a member of Dessara. That means you might have to hurt innocent people, or even your friends. Are you prepared to do that?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Krys said. Kirdan nodded, and handed over a black cloak. Krys put it on over her clothes; the clothes fit perfectly.

"You look hot in that outfit," Dan said. "Shows off your chest very well." Krys glared at him, not wanting to slap him in fear of hurting her hand from his mask more than her hurting him with her hand.

"Pervert," she muttered, and they walked out the cave towards the Dessara base.

A/N: Hoorah, another chapter done! Not my best work though, I'll say that. But oh well, I guess you guys are just looking for an update. The story is gonna pick up next chapter! Hooooooooooooooray! Anyways, thanks to Dragonwings144, Super Ultra Monkey, and Uchiha James for reviewing! I appreciate it a lot.


	10. Battle In Iselia Forest

A/N: Man, I think I have way too many OC's. Ah well, Kirdan and Krys are made for each other. Not sure about if they're made for each other in real life though. ;) Hehe. Annnnnnnyways this story is getting so fun to write now. I'm actually updating it faster than my most popular story Pendragon Memory. So I expect some reviews for my fast updating! roar.

"Sheena!" called Lloyd, and jumped into the prison cell. He picked the woman he loved up off the ground, and rocked her in his arms. "She's not breathing! Raine, _do something!" _he cried urgently.

"I'm working on it, Lloyd!" Raine said in a frustrated tone. "Put her back down onto the ground." Lloyd instantly obeyed, placing the ninja back on the stone floor. Raine placed her staff a few inches over Sheena's chest. "First Aid," she breathed, and her staff lit up sending a warm feeling Raine knew very well through Sheena's body. Lloyd held his breath as the light died down, but Sheena didn't move at all.

"Is she going to wake up?" pestered Lloyd. Raine wondered if things were better off having Sheena still being missing in action.

"I don't know," Raine answered honestly. "I would assume she would. She would have to be either drugged pretty heavily, knocked out, or dead to be asleep for all this time. We know for sure she's not dead, so I would say she's knocked out." the Professor explained.

"I believe we should leave the base now before we get caught," Regal said.

"I agree," Presea said quietly. It was decided. Lloyd picked Sheena up off the ground, and the group left the prison area of the Dessara base, back into the endless maze of hallways. As they traveled through the halls, Presea was bumped into by a one of the Dessara minions. This particular one was a bit different though. A black mask concealed his face. The masked man glared at Presea and continued walking. Standing next to him was a girl with her head down that looked strangely familiar to Presea. Presea looked at her face and swore she saw Krystal.

"Krys-!" she cried, but her mouth was quickly covered by Regal's large hand.

"Don't talk to them," he instructed. "We don't want them to get suspicious of us."

Presea tore his hand off her face. "I swear, that was Krystal!" she said fiercely. Presea watched as Regal's eyes went from alert to dull, and with a glazed kind of look. A look that Presea had grown to hate. There had been a time when Regal had stared at her with those eyes, but ever since Krystal had joined the group, Regal had been giving her that look. Presea sighed and continued walking.

Moving silently through the underground base he had created, the _Dessam,_ or the grand master of Dessara, entered his office. Strangely, the door had been left open. The Dessam highly doubted that he had left the door open. Either one of his worthless workers had come in here looking for him, or someone had broken into his office. He knew it was the latter; nobody in the base had enough guts to break into his office.

The Dessam brushed a strand of silvery-gray hair out of his eyes and stared around his office to see if the intruder had stolen anything. He glanced around the room, and saw a small glint of light from somewhere on the floor. Evidence! The Dessam walked closer, and picked up the item from the ground. As the knife barely made contact with his fingers, a white hot jolt of pain shot through the Dessam's body.

"What the hell!?" he cried out loudly as the strange item fell to the ground. "What in the Goddess's name was that?" he stared down at the item. It was a knife with a three inch blade, cased in a black sheath. Written on the sheath were two letters: P.C. "P.C..." muttered the Dessam. "What could be so strange about this knife, and who is P.C.? Whoever he is, I'm going to find him. He is certainly our Chosen."

"That was Presea and everybody!" Krystal shouted as Kirdan led her through the halls. "Why didn't you let me talk to her!"

"Hush!" Dan instructed, his face dead serious behind his mask. "We don't want to blow our cover too early on," Dan lead Krystal into a backroom. Various workers in black scurried around the room, doing various strange jobs.

"We need to prepare for our next attack!" said a deep voice. "Hurry up, you lazy bastards!"

"What about those people that foiled our last attack?" questioned one brave, brave soul.

"They will be taken care of if they show up again." the deep voice replied smugly. Krystal look for the source of the voices and found a man with shoulder length blue hair and an X shaped scar on his face barking commands to another worker with short blonde hair. Soon, the blue haired man noticed he was being stared at. "Aha!" he yelled. "If it isn't Kirdan," The man walked closer. "And you've brought a guest, I see. A lady friend of yours?"

"She's my partner," Kirdan replied. "And no, not sexual partner. Although I do wish..." The blue haired man slapped Kirdan on the cheek.

"Shut up, Kirdan and get back to work! We're going to need you for the flying city, Exire."

"The Exire mission was called off, Xenra." Kirdan said. "The Dessam told us that he had a breakthrough in searching for the new Chosen, and that no more prisoners were needed quite yet."

"Dammit," Xenra said. "I was looking forward to looking for those attackers,"

"You mean the ones that just escaped the base?" Kirdan inquired. Krystal nudged him in the side.

"What are you doing, you damn fool?" she whispered fiercely.

"Where are you going with this, Kirdan?" Xenra said, a look of interest on his rough face. "You're saying that the people who destroyed our attempt to kidnap the citizens of Iselia came into our base and got out alive?"

"Yep," Kirdan said slyly. "And took a prisoner with them." Krystal was shocked. Was Kirdan trustable, or was he just one of those filthy workers for Dessara pretending to be one of her Renegades?

"They took a prisoner?" Xenra said, getting very interested now. "Which one?" Kirdan pulled out a piece of paper.

"Prisoner number 569, Xenra."

"Aha," Xenra said. "I captured that one myself. Put up quite a fight. The Dessam seemed to like her. We might lose our jobs if we don't find her. Anybody know where they might have taken her?"

"I don't," Dan replied. "But my friend Krystal here does." Krystal had had it. What the hell did this pervert think he was doing?

"Excuse me?" Krys said quietly. "I know nothing of what you're talking about."

"Tell the man, Krystal." Kirdan hissed. Krystal watched as the Omni turned into a dagger. Krystal shook her head and glared at Kirdan.

"They're in the Iselia forest," she said sadly. She would have told the truth, but she feared what would happen to her for lying more than Lloyd and the others being attacked. "That's all I know, I swear."

"I'm going to tell The Dessam about this one," Xenra said. "We'll meet at the hangar in a half hour." Xenra ran off, and Krystal noticed the humongous sword on his belt. She definitely had made the right choice in telling him. Kirdan lead Krystal through a maze of hallways until they arrived in a small bedroom that Krys assumed belonged to Dan.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Krystal screamed. "You just told him everything! I thought I could trust you! Now my friends might be killed because of you!" Tears began to fall down Krys's face. Kirdan leaned in to wipe them off her cheek, but Krystal pushed him away.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was just acting like a true worker for Dessara."

"Yeah, well your damn acting just went too far!" she yelled.

"I guarantee you that your friends won't be killed, Krystal." Kirdan said softly.

"Oh and so now you want my trust again?" Krys said angrily. "You're quite the character, aren't you?" Dan sighed.

"I deserved that. I understand if you don't want to help me anymore. Trust is very hard to win back when it was barely there in the first place."

"I'm not helping you," Krys said weakly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stopped crying. "Not now, at least. I'm helping my friends defeat you and that monster." With that, Krystal picked up her things and left the Dessara base and Kirdan behind.

"Where did your friend go?" Xenra asked as Kirdan opened the door to the Rheiard hangar.

"She had other things to do," Kirdan replied as he mounted a black Rheiard that matched his mask. Kirdan started the machine and opened the door, flying out into the open air. His shoulder length dark brown hair flew with the wind, making his mask more visible to anyone who saw him. In the distance, he could see Krystal's purple Rheiard flying close to the ground, like a shadow in the night. Kirdan decided to give her a little more time to get to Iselia. "Hey Xenra," Kirdan called across the sky. He doubted that Xenra could hear him with the wind whipping all around him, but surprisingly Xenra replied.

"What is it, Kirdan?" he said in an angry tone.

"Have you seen the new city they're making in Meltokio's place?" he asked politely.

"No I haven't, Kirdan, and I don't really care either." Dan cursed under his breath. He was all out of ideas. _I guess this will just have to go how it supposed to go..._he thought as he flew through the moonlit sky.

"Guys!" Krys yelled as she burst through the door of the small house in the Iselia forest. Everyone was sitting around a small table. Lloyd's attention was on a busty girl in a revealing kimono who was lying on a bed asleep.

"Krystal!" Presea said happily. "You returned!" Regal nodded at her, and everyone else said hello and welcome back.

"It's good to see you guys too, but right now we're in trouble." That got everyone's attention quickly. "I'll explain later, but for now, fight when the attackers come." Raine picked up her new staff that she had stolen from the Dessara base, and Presea drew her axe. Lloyd stood up and drew both of his swords.

From outside, Krystal heard the low whine of the Rheiards; the guests had arrived, uninvited.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"They're here," Krys called, as she loaded her crossbow. Presea picked up her axe and stepped closer to Krystal. She saw two familiar faces standing on the log bridge. One was the blue haired man, Lord Xenra, from the base, and the other was the mysterious masked man who had been with Krys earlier in the base. Xenra drew his sword, the humongous black blade gleaming in the moonlight. Tonight, Kirdan's weapon was a long bladed sword with some kind of metal snake coiled around the hilt and slightly on the blade. He also drew a small dagger from a sheath on his belt.

"I hate to fight you all, but you've stolen a valuable prisoner," Xenra said.

"You'll never get Sheena back, you bastards!" Lloyd yelled, and jumped into the air, making the first move. He brought the sword down fiercely, slashing down Xenra's face down to his chest. Xenra easily blocked the attack and flung Lloyd across the yard and into the wall of the house. Krystal shot a bolt at Kirdan, and quickly loaded and fired another one at him. Dan blocked both attacks with the small blade. Dan then began to run towards Krystal, pointing the long bladed sword at her.

"You might be very sexy, but that won't stop me from killing you!" he yelled, and raised the sword over his head. He swiftly swung downwards. Krys reacted instantly, pulling a small knife from one of her belts and blocked the attack. The sword deeply cracked the blade of the knife, but Krys was safe, which was all that mattered.

"Krystal, I'll help you out," Presea said, coming up from behind Kirdan. She raised her axe high into the air and sliced Kirdan's back. Krystal followed after the attack with a poisoned bolt straight through his chest.

"This is what you get for betraying me only hours after meeting me, you son of a bitch." Krystal said darkly. Kirdan smiled at her.

"Is this supposed to hurt?" he asked as blood fell down his back and the poison began to enter his bloodstream. "Because I don't feel a thing." Presea and Krys watched in horror as Kirdan spit out a glob of purple.

"Did he just...spit out the poison?" Krystal said in horror. Kirdan continued to smile as the deep cut on his back began to heal. "What the hell are you?" Krys gasped as the masked man revealed his macabre powers. His long sword suddenly transformed into some kind of smaller sword. As soon as he flung it, the blade collapsed and turned into some kind of bladed chain. Krystal jumped backwards to avoid the attack.

"I'm just a half elf, just like you, Krystal." Kirdan snarled. He flicked the chain blade again, this time making impact with her arm, cutting right through the arm warmer. Blood began staining the arm warmer, but Krys ignored it. Her full attention was focused on Kirdan. His dark, black eyes, his snarling lips, his long brown hair that looked jet black in the night. Krys clutched her crossbow harder. She raised it to the level of her eyes, loaded it with a bolt, and pulled the trigger. Krys watched contently as the bolt flew from her crossbow straight through Kirdan's mask and face. His mask cracked into two equal pieces that fell to the ground, and before Krys could get a look at his face he had flung his long hair over the front of his head to cover his face. He muttered a healing spell under his breath to stop the bleeding and placed his right hand over his face.

"You've figured out my weakness early on, Krystal." he said sadly. "But nobody can see my face. I'm sorry that my acting went too far today. It won't happen again." With a swish of his cape, Kirdan disappeared into the night. _One down, one to go_, thought Krys.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Lloyd picked himself up off the ground and stared at the man he had just attempted to attack. It appeared that his only strength was the humongous blade. Lloyd ran towards him again, this time aiming for his sword instead of the man.

"Tempest Beast!" he cried as he jumped into a circle and landed, sending a blue lions head out of his sword and into the blade. But the blade didn't crack at all.

"Nice try," Xenra said with a smile. "But this thing will never crack. It's indestructible." Lloyd sighed. He couldn't win this. Not without help, at least. A lot of help.

"Guys!" Lloyd called. "Could you help me out here?" Regal came to his rescue, attacking Xenra with his crescent moon attack. Regal towered over Xenra, but in strength, Xenra beat out Regal easily. Xenra responded to the kick with a slash of his sword at Regal's chest. The cut was deep, and Regal flew backwards into Dirk's house, breaking through the wooden wall. Suddenly, a bolt whizzed right past Lloyd's ear and into the chest of Xenra. Presea then ran up to attack Xenra. She raised her axe in the air and swung hard. Xenra and Presea's blades collided, sending a few golden sparks in the air. Lloyd decided this would be a good opportunity to strike, and ran behind Xenra and slashed him in the back. The man cried out in pain for a moment, and Presea shoved him backwards.

Krys sent another bolt speeding through the air, but this time Xenra raised his sword and blocked it. He then raised it over his head and swung downwards into Presea's head. The sword went in deep, and Presea screamed out in pain, screaming bloody murder. She fell to the ground, and closed her eyes. Instantly, Raine dragged her away from the direct battle and into a corner. She whipped out her staff and cast First Aid, and the cut stopped bleeding; but Presea was out cold, looking dead, and wondering why Regal, who was closer to her than Raine could ever be, hadn't helped her first.

"See what happened to your friend?" Xenra said. "That's what's going to happen to all of you little bitches." Xenra smiled a wicked smile, and jumped off the ground. Everything suddenly became a blur as Xenra jumped off the ground and slashed everyone deeply in the chest in one simultaneous motion. Raine sunk into the shadows as Xenra landed in the same spot he had started at, and startling cackling evilly as he placed his humongous sword back in the sheath. "You're a pathetic bunch of heroes, aren't you?" he laughed when there were only moans from the ground. "It's hard to believe that a bunch of weaklings like you saved the world." He looked around at the bodies on the ground. "Since this fight is over, I'll just take the prisoner back and everything will be fine, no?" Xenra walked through the hole in the wall and into the house. He grabbed Sheena and slung her over his back as he walked back towards his Rheiard. Xenra pulled his Rheiard out of his wing pack and started to mount as a voice cut through the silence.

"I won't let you take her," Lloyd said through clenched teeth, trying to stand up off the ground. He was clenching his side as blood dripped from the wound, a sword in his other hand.

"You won't, eh?" Xenra said. He dropped Sheena on the seat of his Rheiard and drew his sword once again.

"That's right," Lloyd snarled. "I'm gonna make damn sure of that." Suddenly, Lloyd's massive wings sprouted from his back and Lloyd flew into the air, his wounds beginning to heal. Lloyd wiped the blood on his pants and drew his second sword. Once Lloyd was high enough in the air, he dived downwards, pointing his sword blades at Xenra's chest. "Angel Massacre!" Lloyd said, revealing a move he had created himself as he plummeted the two swords entirely through Xenra's chest and swooped upwards with perfect timing.

Xenra began coughing and he dropped his sword. Xenra began coughing up blood, and Lloyd flew downwards to the ground to pull his swords out of the man's chest.

"Irving! I'll…kill you!" Xenra said, at the expense of massive blood loss. Crimson bubbled out of his mouth, garbling any other words he might have said. Just as Lloyd had placed his hands on the hilts of his swords, Xenra captured Lloyd's neck between both of his hands in a death grip. Lloyd gagged, and grasped for air, but he found nothing. "I suspected you were a fake worker from the start, Irving. I should have known someone was going to infiltrate the base sooner or later. The Dessam won't be happy to hear about this one."

"Bastard..." Lloyd managed to say as Xenra smiled. Nobody could save him now; they were all in as bad of shape as he was.

"Say goodbye to your precious girlfriends, Irving, the white light is approaching."

"Sheena...Lloyd managed to say before a coughing fit formed. "I love..." And at that moment, Lloyd pulled the blades out of Xenra's chest. Xenra's grip on Lloyd's neck increased, and Lloyd raised the swords over his head, bringing them down as fast as he could through Xenra's arms, cutting both of them off entirely. Xenra gasped as Lloyd pushed him away and plummeted the swords through his heart one last time. "Burn in hell." Lloyd cried, gasping for air as he pried the arms off his neck with a look of disgust on his face.

"Lloyd!" the Professor cried as she emerged from the shadows. "Lloyd! Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Thanks, Professor, but I'm okay." Lloyd said, panting. "Is everybody going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Raine replied. "They're just knocked unconscious."

"Good," Lloyd said with a sigh of relief. Raine threw Lloyd a lemon gel. She was out of magic after healing everyone else while Lloyd had fought. "Thanks, Professor," he said as he rubbed the gel over his neck. A feeling of warmth grew stronger as he helped the Professor drag the bodies back into his house for rest. On top of destroying one of the strongest workers from Dessara, Sheena had been saved.

Lloyd placed the ninja back on the bed, and kissed her on the cheek. Hopefully she would wake up soon. _As soon as she wakes up, I'm telling her. _Lloyd told himself. _I'm telling her that I love her. _Lloyd slowly climbed the stairs and laid down on his bed. He had barely laid down before he lost consciousness.

* * *

A/N: Final word count for this chapter: 3517! That's a lot, and I wrote most of it in a day. This chapter came off kind of dark I suppose, cause I was in a dark mood when I wrote it. I guess I put my emotions into a chapter or something like that I dunno. Anyways, you've probably been sitting here for awhile reading so I'll say thanks to Dragonwings144 and Super Ultra Monkey for reviewing and that you guys are awesome and you get cookies. -leaves yummy cookies- Cheers! 


	11. The Ninja Clad In Purple Awakens

Kirdan sat down on his bed, his hand masking his face. Nobody, absolutely nobody, could see his face. He had concealed it for years already, why stop now? He suddenly began violently shivering. The mask had pulled him over the edge today, ratting out the only friend he had ever had. He could've tried to stop it, too. But he hadn't, and he had lost Krystal as a friend forever. The mask...what secrets lay idle in the small device? What dark secrets and demons did it hold? Some of its powers had revealed themselves today, turning him into a macabre creature; a creature that had never revealed itself before. Kirdan sighed again. Hopefully, someday, he would make up with Krystal. For now, he needed to find a new mask...

* * *

The day dawned sunny in the Iselia forest, bits of sunlight peeking through the cracks from the treetops. Lloyd opened his eyes slowly, but instantly closed them again to block out the strong sunlight. As he waited for his eyes to adjust to the light, his thoughts drifted to Sheena. She needed to wake up soon. It would calm a lot of nerves, his especially. His body had felt empty, almost incomplete when he had heard the news that Sheena had gone missing. And after they had found her, after he had rescued her, he felt whole again. Was this what being in love felt like? Besides having a small crush on the Professor a few years back, Lloyd had never really dealt with emotions like this before.

Lloyd rose from the mat on the ground and climbed down the ladder into the kitchen. Everyone was awake, except for a body lying motionless in the corner bed: Sheena. Lloyd sighed, and sat down at the table, heaping bacon and eggs prepared by Regal onto a plate.

"Good morning, Lloyd," Raine said.

"Morning," he replied, and began to eat. The rest of the day passed quickly. The girls went shopping, while the boys and Presea stayed back to train. Lloyd, agrivated that Sheena hadn't awakened yet, swung his swords with more vigor than he normally used. Zelos noticed of course, when he received a large bump on his arm from Lloyd's sword hilt.

"Owwwwwwww!" squealed Zelos as his skin turned red. "Lloyd, you hurt me! Now what will the ladies think?"

"Quit complaining, Zelos," Regal said, adjusting his grieves. "You recieved much worse injuries during the Journey of Regeneration."

"Yeah well...be quiet Regal." As Regal and Presea started up their battle again, Zelos drew his sword and began to battle with Lloyd. Lloyd clutched both of his swords with his hands and got into an athletic position, his eyes alert, watching (and hoping) for Zelos to make the first move.

They remained like this for ten minutes, until Zelos broke the silence.

"Why are we training? It seems so..." Then Lloyd pounced, jumping forward. The two blades met, and Lloyd twirled around backwards, swiping at Zelos once again. The blades met again and again, always meeting metal instead of the flesh it craved. The dance continued around the yard, the sound of metal on metal filling Lloyd and Zelos's ears. Finally, Lloyd pulled his sword away from Zelos's and swung quickly. Zelos had no time to block, and the blade slashed into his left arm.

Drops of red blood began falling from the wound, and Zelos let out a loud cry.

"Llooooooooooooooyd! You weren't supposed to hit me!" he screamed as his right were soaked in blood as he covered the wound.

"I'm sorry!" Lloyd said. "Quick, let's go inside and we'll get you fixed up." Lloyd and Zelos ran back into Dirk's house and put Zelos down into a chair. He whined loudly about his injury, but Lloyd paid no notice. He was too busy concentraiting about fixing it. He applied lemon gel to the bleeding, and Zelos yelped like a small dog. "Live with the pain, Zelos." Lloyd said. "I'm sick of hearing you whine like that! I'll fix it up, okay?" Zelos nodded, gritting his teeth. Soon, the bleeding stopped and Lloyd wrapped a clean bandage around the wound.

When Zelos was satisfied they sat at the table and waited for Regal and Presea to finish. They didn't wait long, as a few minutes later Regal burst through the door with Raine trailing not far behind him.

"Is Zelos alright?" Raine asked.

"He's fine. I gave him a lemon gel." Lloyd answered.

"Oh, okay." said Raine. Soon after, the rest of the group arrived and Regal began making lunch. Lloyd sunk into silence sitting next to Sheena, and barely touched his food.

"Lloyd, why do you make yourself so depressed?" Presea asked, sitting next to him. "It does no good you know."

"I know," Lloyd muttered. "She's just all I can think about." Suddenly, there came a sound from next to him. It wasn't from Presea, rather from the bed...Lloyd instantly looked down to see movement under the covers, and Sheena's eyes opened up. She was still for a moment, getting her bearings.

"L-l-lloyd?" she said, her voice weak and fragile. "Where am I?"

"You're in Iselia Forest," he said. "We rescued you from the Dessar base." Sheena sat upright in bed a little too quickly.

"That place!" she said.

"What do you know about it?" inquired Raine.

"Let her be," Regal said calmly. "She has just woken up."

"They thought I was some kind of...chosen..." Sheena said. The room fell into a silence. Raine gave a slight nod. "But soon, they thought that I wasn't..." she trailed off into her own thoughts. Had Sheena gone crazy? What had they done to her? Lloyd's hands balled into fists at the thought.

"Sheena, are you all right?" Lloyd asked gently, placing a hand on her cheek. It was warm. "I think she's sick. Professor, can you look?"

"Let her rest, Lloyd." Raine said. "She has a small fever. She'll be better by tomorrow." Sheena's eyes closed, andshe drifted back to sleep. Lloyd let out a frustrated sigh.

"What did those damn people want with her?" he said. "What did they do to her?"

"Calm down, Lloyd. She'll be okay," Zelos said, placing a comforting hand on Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd sighed again and nodded.

* * *

Kirdan was startled as the door opened and the Dessam entered his room.

"Need a new mask?" said the Dessam. Kirdan didn't reply, bringing a smile to the Dessam's face. Kirdan noticed that the Dessam's hair wasn't tied into its regular ponytail. His blueish-silver hair fell down to about his shoulders, giving the middle aged man a different appearance. "I gurantee you that I had nothing to do with the previous mask, Dan."

"I have no doubt you didn't, Dessam." Kirdan replied. "But I don't trust what you've done to the new one."

"Now, now don't be like that! Trust me on this one, as your boss." On the table the Dessam laid a new mask, identical to the other one. Dan eyed it through his spread fingers. It looked almost like the Dessam had repaired the other one. For all Dan knew, he could have very easily.

Hesitantly, Dan reached out and took the mask in his free hand. He turned away from his master and placed it over his face. Instantly, a sharp pain filled him and he gasped.

"What the fuck is this thing doing to me!?" he yelled. The Dessam smiled.

"It's simply getting used to you, Kirdan." the Dessam explained. The mask continuously shot bolts of pain through Kirdan's entire body, and he began to scream louder. A vision formed in his eyes, of a creature standing about his height with black hair and even blacker eyes. Black symbols filled almost every inch of skin on his face and hands. The creature roared, showing fanged teeth stained red. Clutched in his black hand was a sword with a chained blade, and a motionless body lay in front of him. As the vision faded, a white noise filled Dan's ears. He realized it was his own screaming. The Dessam remained unphased, still standing next to the doorway.

"What the fuck is this thing?" Dan asked again.

"It is simply your mask from before, Kirdan. I had nothing to do with what it did to you just now. Whoever gave you that mask was skilled in some very dark magic. I may be able to help you, but I need the mask first." Dan lifted his fingers up to the mask and tried to pull it off. It didn't move.

"It won't budge," Dan said.

"I was afraid of that." the Dessam said. "I'll be back in a few hours to see what I can do about it." The Dessam turned around and left the room swiftly. Kirdan let out a frustrated sigh.

_All because of that fucking man..._

* * *

Two days later, Sheena's fever had completely supsided. There was an awkward silence at the breakfast table as everyone, including Sheena, was silent. Finally, Lloyd broke the silence.

"Sheena, what did they do to you there?" There was silence for a few minutes. Sheena sighed.

"They tried to see if I was some kind of..." she trailed off, the memories obviously not very pleasant.

"Sheena," Raine said gently. We need to know this. This could change a lot of things."

"They were convinced I was some kind of...chosen, I don't know."

"Like Colette?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah," Sheena said. "Only, I don't think they want me to resurrect Martel. They want something else. They thought since I was a summoner I was that chosen I guess...but they were wrong. They did all sorts of tests on me to see if I was it, and everything I failed, they got madder." She moved one of her torn sleeves to show them a nasty looking cut that hadn't fully healed. Lloyd was positive that it would become a scar as soon as it healed. Sheena sighed again.

"When did they take you?" Lloyd asked.

"A few months after you left," she said. "I was in Mizuho and all of the sudden we were raided by these mysterious people...but the thing is, they took the entire town."

"Yeah, we've seen that happen," Lloyd said. "They burned down Meltokio and killed Genis."

"They killed Genis?" Sheena asked, aghast. Raine shifted unconfortably in her seat. "I'm sorry to hear that," Sheena added.

"It's in the past," Raine said darkly. "Just another reason to have us destroy Dessara, and quickly."

* * *

_P.C..._ Thought the Dessam.

A memory from the past began to form in his mind, one that he had forgotten.

"_You say you want revenge then, sir? Then let me tell you of an old prophecy, one that was written thousands of years ago. But only now, in this current day and age, has it been set in motion...This prophecy is the Prophecy of the Last Chosen. It tells of a Chosen that can serve as a hero to save the world from his or herself, or a villian that could destroy our worlds as we know them when markings are placed on them with this knife." The man held up a knife, with a black scabbard and a silver handle. "Are you interested in finding this Chosen one, my friend?"_

_"Yes," spoke the Dessam. He was beginning to see things a different way, a way that a companion of his had lived by. He was also willing to do anything to seek revenge for murder...This was certainly was much easier than being a traitor. "Show me the markings." The man pulled out a piece of paper and inked strange markings onto it. After a few minutes, he passed it over to the Dessam for him to see. There were multiple intwined circles, and lines that snaked around like vines. "These are to go on the Chosen's arms. Return here when you have the Chosen and I shall give you the knife. Beware though, that this won't be happening for awhile. But now that you are incorperated with this, you'll feel the feeling in your body. The feeling of a new beginning...Oh, and watch for PC...part of the prophecy was lost, and the only part left were the letters P and C. I'm guessing this is signficant in some way to it..."_

The memory faded, and the Dessam stared down at the knife. It looked oddly familiar...black scabbard, silver handle...The only difference now was that the letters P and C had been engraved into the scabbard.

"Scaros," the Dessam said, motioning for his assistant to come. "Run a search through the computers for anyone in Symphonia with the initials of P and C."

"As you request, Dessam."

A few hours later, the search had been completed and the Dessam had a list of two people that had the initials that needed to be captured that hadn't been captured yet. Fifty soldiers had volunteered for the job, the Dessam noticed, as he walked into the Rheiard hangar. He also noticed that Kirdan, the mysterious masked man

"All right, Dessarans!" yelled the Dessam. "Tonight, we find our Chosen!" The Dessam mounted his Rheiard and headed for Iselia Forest, where one of his candidates awaited.

* * *

A few hours later, as the sun was about to set, Lloyd approached Sheena for the first time since breakfast.

"Hey Sheena...you wanna take a walk?"

"Sure," she said. Lloyd lead the ninja out of the house and into the forest.

"I'm glad you're back, Sheena," Lloyd said, feeling his face flush red.

"I owe you one for rescuing me," Sheena said with a small laugh.

"There's been something I've been meaning to tell you Sheena, for a long time now."

"Oh?" Sheena said coolly.

"Yeah..." They were going deeper and deeper into the forest, the trees becoming denser. Lloyd took a deep breath..."Sheena...I..."

There was a rush of about ten black-clad figures beside them. An arm wrapped itself tightly around Sheena's neck, pulling her off her feet as the figure continued to run.

"LLOYD!" Sheena shrieked.

"Sheena!" He drew his sword and took off after the running man. As he was running, he was tackled and pinned to the ground. "Get...the...hell...OFF ME!" Lloyd screamed, raising his hand with the sword up and plunging it down into his attackers back. Lloyd flipped the motionless body off of him and picked himself up, starting to run again. He had lost valuable time.

Sheena's kidnapper was out of sight, but Lloyd was guessing that he was headed for Dirk's house. Lloyd plunged into the clearing, revealing about fifty men standing in a circle around the wooden house. Sheena's kidnapper was out of sight. Each member of the party was held by the neck by a black-clad member of Dessara.

"Leave Sheena alone!" screamed Lloyd. "She's not your stupid Chosen or whatever! You did the tests on her, and you know that! So why take her again?"

"We're not here for Sheena this time," spoke a familiar voice Lloyd couldn't quite place. From the shadows spoke a man who walked with an elegance that screamed he was the leader. A hood from a black traveling cloak covered his head that Lloyd didn't think would be coming off very soon. Underneath the traveling cloak, which also doubled as a cape that whipped to the west with the wind, was black and silver armor, exactly like the armor the Renegade Yuan had wore, only a different color. So much for originality. "We're here for the little one, Presea."

"You-" began Presea, but she was cut off by the guard placing a hand on her mouth. Even though he only had one arm, he was still stronger than her by a long shot.

"Let's go," said the leader of the Dessarans. "We have what we want now." The Dessarans mounted Rheiards, and Lloyd stood watching as Presea, Krystal and Colette were taken away. Sheena was still nowhere in sight.

"Regal!" cried Krystal as the Rheiard, which Lloyd noticed was being controlled by the man named Kirdan, lifted off the ground. Lloyd, Regal and Zelos stood helpless, watching their friends fly away into the night.

"Toodleoo, gentlemen," said the master of the Dessarans cheerfully with a little wave as his Rheiard lifted off the ground.

"Fuck you!" Zelos yelled, and gave him the bird. The man chuckled.

* * *

Krystal awoke on a white bedsheet. She didn't remember when she had fallen asleep. All she really remembered was being captured by Kirdan and flying away...

"You're awake," said a voice that Krys had hoped to never hear again...He had the same blue-silver hair, only it was longer now. He still looked the same age as he had before, which was strange. It had been more than 10 years since she had seen him last. His voice was the same too. It was Matharisis.

"So you're the leader of this shit," Krys spat. "I'm guessing that this is what you were talking about to your friend all those years ago?" The Dessam didn't answer for a moment. Then apparently the memory returned to him.

"No, that wasn't it. What I was talking about there was about the journey of Regeneration. It wasn't about you, or any of this. This is the result of something I found out after that journey. This is for my own revenge."

"You're doing all of this just for a bit of revenge? What the hell is wrong with you!? People have died from this, Matharisis, died!"

"It began as revenge, yes," Matharisis said. "But it grew into more. An obession, you could say. Nowadays, I have grown out of my quest for revenge. I have moved on, to better things. And this happens to be one of them."

"Bastard," Krys spat. "And what did you do to Kirdan?" A memory flashed through her mind. _His teeth were fangs, and his eyes behind the mask cold..._

_"Go to sleep, Krystal, go to sleep,"_

_"No. I don't trust what you would do." He began to sing, a melody like none she had ever heard before. It was seductive. It was chilling. A cold shiver ran through her spine as he sang in whispers, a smile forming on his lips and his fangs._

_"Bastard...quit...singing..."_

_"I will not quit singing, Krystal." Slowly, she fell into a deep sleep. And every second of it she felt pain..._

"I did nothing," Matharisis said, breaking her from the daze. "It's that blasted mask of his. He needs to destroy it. I don't give a damn about his past, he's not very cooperative anymore." There was a strange feeling in Krystal's chest as the only fatherly-figure she had ever had in her life walked away. Not because he was leaving, but because of Kirdan. What could be so terrible that happened to him that he would have to wear a mask? A mask that took control of him at that. Krystal definetly had to hear his story...and destroy his mask.

* * *

As midnight struck, the tests on the Chosen candidates concluded. Dessara had found their Chosen one...

"I've found her, Dessam." spoke a Dessaran named Nikolos.

"Excellent," the Dessam said. "Give me the name."

"Presea Combatir, sir."

A/N: I'm back from my looooong hiatus. And it feels geeeeewd to be back Very good. I hope this chapter was a good enough update after all the waiting 'n stuff. Yeah, I'm gonna be back in full swing. Hopefully I'll finish this puppy. Annnnnnnnnnnd yeah. 4 more days WOOOO. Later.


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